Creation of a mindfulness program for NICU parents

Approximately 7 - 15% of parents will have an infant who will spend time in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). These parents report significantly higher symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress when compared to postpartum parents who did not have a child with a NICU admission. Parental mental health is of importance as distress can negatively impact parental health and well-being, parent-infant interactions and attachment, as well as infant and child health and development. Mindfulness-based interventions provide significant evidence supporting their efficacy at reducing stress and promoting resiliency and well-being among clinical and community samples. Intervention Mapping offers a system to develop health promotion and health education solutions while informing the implementation and evaluation processes. This primary goal of the current study was to adapt a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for parents who have a child in the NICU with consideration to time, program content, and requirements. The current study examines the feasibility and acceptability of implementing this mindfulness-based intervention, known as Mindful NICU. Additionally, the current study explores relationships between individual levels of parental stress, parental stress due to infant being the NICU, infant health severity, experiential avoidance, and mindfulness development. One trial of Mindful NICU was implemented amongst parents who have infants in the Chronic Lung Disease (CLD) program in the Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit (N/IICU) at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). With comprehensive coordination and support from the CLD medical team, the project piloted one six-week trial of group mindfulness training. However, recruitment and retention proved challenging and findings did not support the program's feasibility. Feedback from the study participant (n = 1) indicate acceptability with promotion of mindfulness training, though maternal distress did not reduce post-intervention. Revisions to Mindful NICU include reducing program duration and the creation of additional program materials to promote engagement with mindfulness practices outside of group. Additional materials include audio recordings of mindfulness practice which hold the promise to enhance program sustainability. Future systematic investigation of Mindful NICU is merited.