title: The role of peer support in the development of maternal identity for "NICU Moms".
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine first-time neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) mothers' perceptions of the initial effect and stress of their birth experiences and hospitalizations of their infants and what facilitated or hindered the development of their maternal roles within the context of the NICU.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative descriptive design.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 57-bed, tertiary NICU in Chicago.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-three mothers of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants hospitalized in the NICU.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were a subset of a larger longitudinal mixed-method study of psychological distress in 69 mothers of VLBW infants. Mothers were interviewed using an adaptation of the Clinical Interview for Parents of High-Risk Infants (CLIP) approximately 6 weeks after the births of their infants. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mothers characterized the infants' births and hospitalizations as a time of overwhelming change culminating in a new perspective on life. Primary themes were loss, stress and anxiety, adapting, resilience, peer support, and "I'm a NICU Mom." Mothers rated peer support as the most facilitative and supportive aspect of developing the maternal role in the NICU.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Peer support and role modeling by NICU-based breastfeeding peer counselors helped the mothers throughout every stage of their infants' hospitalizations, from giving them hope, to helping them begin to develop maternal identity, to providing anticipatory guidance about taking their infants home. Talking points are provided for nurses who work in NICUs without dedicated peer support to help mothers establish a healthy mother/infant relationship.
authors.forename: Beverly
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rossman
authors.forename: Michelle M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.forename: Paula P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Meier
mesh_terms: D002641:Chicago; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D017283:Neonatal Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D010379:Peer Group; D012944:Social Support
keywords: CLIP; breastfeeding peer counselors; maternal role attainment; neonatal intensive care unit; peer support; talking points; very low birth weight infants