The focus of this research database is on how stress affects women's health, and options for treatment using mind-body therapies.  To obtain full summaries of the articles, see "How to Get Abstracts" below

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11600855 R,T

Extensive review with almost 100 references on use of complementary care in the NICU, including light, color, music, aromatherapy, hospice, kangaroo care, massage, reflexology, craniosacral therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture, reiki, healing touch, distant prayer, homeopathy and herbal medicine.

2001 Clin Obstet Gynecol 44;4:750-68

Jones, J. E. and Kassity, N.

10754829 JA

Random survey of London critical care units showed that 75% of NICUs provided complementary therapies, the most common one being massage.

1999 Complement Ther Nurs Midwifery 5;4:103-7

Hayes, J. A. and Cox, C. L.

11452557 JA

Case report of successful use of integrating standard and complementary treatments into care of a sick premie with subsequent diagnosis of cystic fibrosis. Guided imagery was very helpful in aiding the mother to cope with critical surgery for her baby.

2001 Altern Ther Health Med 7;4:136, 134-5

Mark, J. D. and Barton, L. L.

9640010 JA

Evaluation and standardization of 10 physical sign pain indicators in NICU infants.

1998 J Pediatr Nurs 13;3:164-74

Howard, V. A. and Thurber, F. W.

9409099 R,T

Review and critique of issues regarding measurement of pain in neonates.

1997 J Pain Symptom Manage 14;6:343-78

Franck, L. S. and Miaskowski, C.

[Top]

Psychology

3992436 JA

Being away from home and family, physical discomforts, medication side effects, and feelings of helplessness and loss of control were the most common stresses in moms in the NICU setting.

1985 Soc Work Health Care 10;3:75-89

Waldron, J. A. and Asayama, V. H.

9205278 JA

Variables associated with parental stress in neonatal intensive care units

Stress scores for parents of NICU babies were significantly correlated with perception of severity of their infant's illness, trait anxiety, desire for the pregnancy, and where and when parents first saw the baby.

1997 Neonatal Netw 16;1:29-37

Shields-Poe, D. and Pinelli, J.

9214953 JA

Adolescent mothers of NICU babies were most distressed by parental role alterations and the infant's appearance and behavior, rather than the sights and sounds of the NICU, which was a significant stressor for non-adolescent moms. However, communication may be more of an issue, since adolescents already have difficulties communicating with adults. The adolescent mother must accelerate the role transition from teenager to mother.

1997 J Perinat Neonatal Nurs 11;1:77-84

Bell, P. L.

11949109 JA

Correlates of anxiety, hostility, depression, and psychosocial adjustment in parents of NICU infants

NICU parents experienced high levels of anxiety, hostility and depression. These levels were higher in parents with poorer family functioning, lower levels of social support, and lower perceived control.

2000 Neonatal Netw 19;5:15-23

Doering, L. V., Moser, D. K., and Dracup, K.

11949060 JA

NICU moms whose infants were now six months old identified stressors related to their experience: 1) pre-existing personal and family factors, 2) prenatal and perinatal experiences ("I just felt like that my body had failed me."), 3) infant illness, treatments, and appearance in the NICU ("When I got in there, I felt very queasy. I had to sit down. I had to get my head between my knees. I wasn't prepared for what I was going to see."), 4) concerns about infant outcome ("Extremely emotional, like one day up and the next day down. You never knew; we used to dread going. We'd get a mile or two from the hospital, and you just feel yourself all tightening up."), 5) loss of the parental role ("And then having to leave every day and leave him there. Someone else was caring for him, feeding him, holding him...There were others who knew how to take care of him better than I did. And that was tough."), and 6) health care providers ("When we first came to the tertiary hospital, nobody really sat down and talked to me and said anything about 'This is now things are done' or 'These are our roles'".).

2000 Neonatal Netw 19;3:13-21

Holditch-Davis, D. and Miles, M. S.

9216318 JA

Three years after NICU experiences, mothers reported vivid memories of stress related to the appearance and behavior of their infants, the pain and procedures the infants endured, alterations in their role as parents, staff relationships, and stress related to illness severity and uncertainty.

1997 Neonatal Netw 16;4:33-40

Wereszczak, J., Miles, M. S., and Holditch-Davis, D.

9732655 JA

Journal writing as a social support strategy for parents of premature infants: a pilot study

Of a group of 73 NICU parents given information on journal writing, 32% kept a journal. 73% of these felt it helped considerably in reducing stress, and all recommended it for use by other parents.

1998 Patient Educ Couns 33;2:149-59

Macnab, A. J., Beckett, L. Y., Park, C. C., and Sheckter, L.

11008993 JA

Experience and endocrine stress responses in neonatal and pediatric critical care nurses and physicians

Swiss NICU and PICU nurses and physicians evaluated in their working environment showed many cortisol surges (mean 219% increase) in response to stressful situations. Professional experience failed to attenuate the frequency and magnitude of reaction unless there was >8 years ICU experience. 71.3% of these surges occurred without conscious perception of stress on the part of the healthcare worker.

2000 Crit Care Med 28;9:3281-8

Fischer, J. E., Calame, A., Dettling, A. C., Zeier, H., and Fanconi, S.

11894509 JA

Spiritual and religious components of patient care in the neonatal intensive care unit: sacred themes in a secular setting

Evaluation of spiritual concerns in the Mass General (Harvard) NICU displayed a strong undercurrent of spirituality, supporting a need for pastoral resources for both families and care providers. 83% of NICU hospital staff prayed for babies privately.

Catlin, E. A., Guillemin, J. H., Thiel, M. M., Hammond, S., Wang, M. L., and O'Donnell, J.

[Top]

Massage

11589217 L

The intervention of massage leading to weight gain in premies is more effective when it is begun when weights are 1100-1300g.

2001 Pediatrics 108;4:1053

Hernandez Reif, M., Field, T., Diego, M., and Beutler, J.

11249296 R,T

Review and critique of studies using tactile stimulation with premature infants. Directions and parameters for future research suggested.

2000 J Perinat Neonatal Nurs 14;1:84-103

Liaw, J. J.

10796355 MA

Although the reviewers’ conclusion states that evidence for premie massage is “weak”, they also state that “massage interventions improved daily weight gain by 5 gm” and “appeared to reduce length of stay by 4.6 days”.

2000 Cochrane Database Syst Rev2:CD000390

Vickers, A., Ohlsson, A., Lacy, J. B., and Horsley, A.

7790516 R,T

Review of effects of massage on infants and children, showing lower anxiety and improved clinical course. Teaching parents and grandparents to administer massage helps modify adult stress as well as being cost effective.

1995 J Dev Behav Pediatr 16;2:105-11

Field, T.

11281808 RCT

Parents of premies were trained in stimulation including massage and use of music with their babies. In the experimental group, parents spent more time in the NICU, had more appropriate behaviors, and their babies showed less stress behaviors. At one month, parent-infant interaction was the same in both groups.

2000 J Music Ther 37;4:250-68

Whipple, J.

11893434 JA

Healthy preterm infants who were massaged either by mothers or massage professionals gained significantly more weight over a ten day period than controls. There was no significant difference in weight gain via mothers or professionals, making this a cost effective option.

2002 Early Hum Dev 67;1-2:37-45

Ferber, S. G., Kuint, J., Weller, A., Feldman, R., Dollberg, S., Arbel, E., and Kohelet, D.

10748588 JA

NICU babies can develop touch aversion due to the many uncomfortable or painful experiences they have; massage as a pleasurable touch experience could counterbalance this. Importance of first assessing the infant's readiness for massage. Sequential photos show how a touch adversive baby gradually accepted massage and became relaxed.

2000 MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs 25;2:95-9

Lindrea, K. B. and Stainton, M. C.

9677931 JA

Summary of findings in healthy as well as ventilator premies using stroking therapy--stabilized cardiovascular parameters and improved immune function.

1998 Complement Ther Nurs Midwifery 4;1:25-7

Hayes, J. A.

8340472 RCT

Stable premies who received three 15 minute massages a day gained significantly more weight than a control group. Babies who had experienced greater obstetric complications benefited the most.

1993 J Dev Behav Pediatr 14;3:176-80

Scafidi, F. A., Field, T., and Schanberg, S. M.

8439193 CT

Stable premies showed a significant reduction in cortisol levels one hour after massage.

1993 Arch Dis Child 68;1 Spec No:29-31

Acolet, D., Modi, N., Giannakoulopoulos, X., Bond, C., Weg, W., Clow, A., and Glover, V.

11677298 RCT

Well preterm babies who were massaged daily in the hospital and then at home had statistically significant increased weight gain (4.24g/day) as well as significant improvement in various Brazelton Scale cluster measurements.

2001 Indian Pediatr 38;10:1091-8

Mathai, S., Fernandez, A., Mondkar, J., and Kanbur, W.

11247199 JA

Daily massage with four different oils (herbal, sesame, mustard and mineral) in healthy full term babies in an Indian hospital improved the weight, length and midarm and midleg circumferences as opposed to a control group. However, sesame oil had significantly improved results over all the other oils, also significantly increasing femoral artery blood velocity and sleep quality. There was no change in hematocrit, serum proteins, albumin, creatinine and creatine phosphokinase between the groups.

2000 Indian J Med Res 112;212-7

Agarwal, K. N., Gupta, A., Pushkarna, R., Bhargava, S. K., Faridi, M. M., and Prabhu, M. K.

[Top]

Music

11189668 CT

Premies older than 31 weeks had quicker return to baseline parameters if listening to music while undergoing heel stick.

2000 Can J Nurs Res 31;4:17-39

Butt, M. L. and Kisilevsky, B. S.

10085995 MCC

Stable premies who received massage and music 1-2 times a week until discharge increased weight gain and significantly decreased females' days to discharge (11 days shorter stay).

1998 Pediatr Nurs 24;6:532-8

Standley, J. M.

8700082 CT

Terms newborns who listened to soothing music had significantly less "high arousal behavior states". List of chosen music included.

1996 Neonatal Netw 15;1:45-54

Kaminski, J. and Hall, W.

8700604 RCT

Stable premies who listened to music for 20 minutes a day for three days had significantly fewer oximeter alarm triggers than those who listened to a tape of their mother’s voice.

1995 Pediatr Nurs 21;6:509-12, 574

Standley, J. M. and Moore, R. S.

10160836 MCC

Listening to music for 30 min. three times a day lead to significantly reduced initial weight loss, increased weight gain and formula intake, and reduced length of stay for these stable premies.

1991 J Music Ther 28;4:180-92

Caine, J.

10659862 N

A pacifier that plays lullabies when activated can increase sucking abilities in premies and poor feeders.

2000 JAMA 283;4:468-9

Marwick, C.