PARENT SOURCES OF DEVELOPMENTAL KNOWLEDGE BEFORE AND AFTER INFANT PRETERM BIRTH

Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this sub-analysis of a larger qualitative study was to determine pre- and post-birth sources of developmental knowledge accessed by families of infants who experienced care in a Level III-IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) related to preterm birth.

Number of Subjects: Subjects were parents (n=13) of infants (n=12) born at < 29 weeks gestation (Mean=26.3 weeks, SD=1.7 weeks) and at very- to extremely-low birth weights (Mean=876.5 grams, SD=109 grams). The mother and father of one infant were interviewed together with their results jointly analyzed. Mothers of the remaining eleven infants were interviewed independently. Families recruited for this qualitative study were enrolled in Efficacy of Motor And Cognitive Intervention for Infants Born Very Preterm clinical trial (SPEEDI-NCT03518736).

Materials/Methods: Parents were interviewed via video conference calls for 12-47 minutes using a semi-structured protocol within 8 weeks of NICU discharge. Transcriptions of the interviews were analyzed by a multidisciplinary team of early intervention providers using collaborative qualitative analysis procedures. For this sub-analysis, responses to, “What did you know about infant development… prior to the birth of your child?” and “As you think about supporting your child’s growth and development, what sources of information have been useful?” were explored.

Results: Prior to the birth of their preterm infant, parent-reported sources of general developmental knowledge included employment-based learning (n=5) and experience-based learning related to care of the parent’s older children or family members (n=5). Despite family- or career-based knowledge, 7 of 12 parents reported limited knowledge of child development prior to the birth of their preterm infant. After the birth of their preterm infant, parents' knowledge sources of pre-term infant development included media such as websites (n=3), Google (n=2), apps (n=4), and books (n=2). All parents reported accessing information directly from their medical providers via in-person conversations, direct messaging via a patient portal, or obtaining readings directly from the medical provider.

Conclusions: Less than half of parents reported some knowledge of child development prior to the birth of their preterm infants. Parents sought out developmental information from media (n=8), with some (n=3) reporting multiple sources. The most reported sources of information after preterm birth were medical providers.

Clinical Relevance: With less than half of parents feeling they had knowledge of child development prior to their preterm infant's birth and many parents receiving developmental information from multiple media sources, medical providers working in NICU and early intervention settings should ask parents about sources of developmental knowledge. Individual parent sources should be assessed not only for the accuracy of information related to child development but also for the quality of information related to the unique needs of preterm infants.