Stress Levels in Parents of Newborns Admitted in the NICU of a Tertiary Care Hospital in Central India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose: The admission of a newborn to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a crisis for the parents, and is a source of stress for them. This study's main objective was to measure stress levels and identify the particular stressors that affect fathers and mothers in a NICU and evaluate associations with socioeconomic and demographic factors.

Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study enrolled 199 mothers and 177 fathers whose newborns stayed ≥24 hours in the NICU. We assessed parental stress using the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU), and calculated Overall Stress Scores (OSS) and Stress Occurrence Scores (SOS) to gauge stress severity.

Results: A mild level of stress was indicated by the mean (SD) overall stress score (OSS), which was 2.74 (1.08) for mothers and 2.60 (1.19) for fathers. "Looks and Behaviour" was the subscale that generated the most stress for both parents when we used the stress occurrence score (SOS). Certain triggers, such as living in an urban area (mothers p=0.020, fathers p=0.048) and being below the poverty line (BPL) (mothers p=0.035, fathers p=0.039), were strongly associated to increased stress in important PSS: NICU scale domains.

Conclusion: Mothers and fathers process NICU stress independently. Higher stress levels were significantly associated with socioeconomic factors, particularly urban residency and financial burden. To ensure effectiveness, NICU interventions and parent counselling must be tailored to address specific gender differences alongside the socioeconomic realities families face.