The neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, was chosen for this study due to the paucity of formal research on the topic and for the varying degrees of emotions between mothers of these special babies. To explain, there has been some degree of formal research on this subject. For example, a few studies have been published in the Journal of Perinatal Education. In one study, it is reported that mothers of NICU moms generally have a hard time forming a bond with their baby due to the separation at the time of delivery. The occurrence of this problem should not come as a shock, because in the NICU, a mother’s baby may need to be immediately taken from her in an effort to save its life. There are even cases where mothers leave their babies in
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When reading these articles, I learned about another terrifying disorder: postpartum psychosis. Postpartum Psychosis, or PP, walks hand in hand with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, and Postpartum Depression, or PPD. This disorder is not at all common for the mother in the first few months after birth, but its importance lies in that it can prove harmful or fatal for the baby. When a mother has this disorder, she experiences profound confusion, delusional beliefs, mood swings and inability to …show more content…
Sue Hall M.D. presented me with 9 papers she wrote as a neonatologist working with traumatized mothers. In one paper, she starts her “abstract” by talking about how NICU staff is not educated well on how to communicate with parents who have sick babies. She discusses how to better educate parents on how to deal with the premature birth, and it confirms the gap in the research, which will be discussed later in the paper. While conducting internet research, I discovered that most NICU research focuses on the child’s health instead of the mother’s and that mothers really get to express their viewpoint of “mom blogs”. According to Huffington Post, a mom blog is a great source of tips, parenting hacks, and laughter. Mom blogs also share stories of parenthood, and many mothers of NICU babies start blogs to help them cope. In one blog, titled Every Tiny Thing, there are endless resources for mothers searching for answers about their NICU baby. In one entry, entitled “Imagine” the writer encourages mothers to not give up. She explains that a mother might have all of these plans for pregnancy and about how great it will go, but that’s not always reality. She encourages mothers not to give up, because love grows even in the NICU. This site not only includes stories, it includes an online store for parents to go to in search of isolette decor, milestone cards, journals and even NICU family posters to document who all cared for and nurtured the baby. On another
When reading these articles, I learned about another terrifying disorder: postpartum psychosis. Postpartum Psychosis, or PP, walks hand in hand with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, and Postpartum Depression, or PPD. This disorder is not at all common for the mother in the first few months after birth, but its importance lies in that it can prove harmful or fatal for the baby. When a mother has this disorder, she experiences profound confusion, delusional beliefs, mood swings and inability to …show more content…
Sue Hall M.D. presented me with 9 papers she wrote as a neonatologist working with traumatized mothers. In one paper, she starts her “abstract” by talking about how NICU staff is not educated well on how to communicate with parents who have sick babies. She discusses how to better educate parents on how to deal with the premature birth, and it confirms the gap in the research, which will be discussed later in the paper. While conducting internet research, I discovered that most NICU research focuses on the child’s health instead of the mother’s and that mothers really get to express their viewpoint of “mom blogs”. According to Huffington Post, a mom blog is a great source of tips, parenting hacks, and laughter. Mom blogs also share stories of parenthood, and many mothers of NICU babies start blogs to help them cope. In one blog, titled Every Tiny Thing, there are endless resources for mothers searching for answers about their NICU baby. In one entry, entitled “Imagine” the writer encourages mothers to not give up. She explains that a mother might have all of these plans for pregnancy and about how great it will go, but that’s not always reality. She encourages mothers not to give up, because love grows even in the NICU. This site not only includes stories, it includes an online store for parents to go to in search of isolette decor, milestone cards, journals and even NICU family posters to document who all cared for and nurtured the baby. On another