title: Stronger and More Vulnerable: A Balanced View of the Impacts of the NICU Experience on Parents.
abstract: For parents, the experience of having an infant in the NICU is often psychologically traumatic. No parent can be fully prepared for the extreme stress and range of emotions of caring for a critically ill newborn. As health care providers familiar with the NICU, we thought that we understood the impact of the NICU on parents. But we were not prepared to see the children in our own families as NICU patients. Here are some of the lessons our NICU experience has taught us. We offer these lessons in the hope of helping health professionals consider a balanced view of the NICU's impact on families.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Hôpital Saint-Justine, Montréal, Quebec, Canada;
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Janvier
authors.affiliation: Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri; jlantos@cmh.edu.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lantos
authors.affiliation: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, New York, New York;
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aschner
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Hôpital Saint-Justine, Montréal, Quebec, Canada;
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Barrington
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois;
authors.forename: Beau
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Batton
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Illinois;
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Batton
authors.affiliation: Municipality of Gjovik, and Innlandet Hospital Trust, Hamar, Norway;
authors.forename: Siri Fuglem
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Berg
authors.affiliation: Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri;
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.affiliation: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, New York, New York;
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Bioethics, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, California;
authors.forename: Felicia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cohn
authors.affiliation: Center for Bioethics and Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina;
authors.forename: Anne Drapkin
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Lyerly
authors.affiliation: Pediatrix Medical Group, Mednax, Inc, Sunrise, Florida;
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ellsbury
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio;
authors.forename: Avroy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fanaroff
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio;
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fanaroff
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio;
authors.forename: Kristy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fanaroff
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Hôpital Saint-Justine, Montréal, Quebec, Canada;
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gravel
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology.
authors.forename: Marlyse
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haward
authors.affiliation: International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kutzsche
authors.affiliation: UCL EGA Institute for Women's Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marlow
authors.affiliation: Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts;
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montello
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Center for Perinatal Research, Nationwide Children's Hospital and Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio;
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maitre
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics, Miller Children's and Women's Hospital Long Beach, Long Beach, California;
authors.forename: Joshua T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Innlandet Hospital Trust, Hamar, Norway; and.
authors.forename: Odd G
authors.initials: OG
authors.lastname: Paulsen
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics, Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Trisha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Prentice
authors.affiliation: Pediatrix Medical Group, Mednax, Inc, Sunrise, Florida;
authors.forename: Alan R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Spitzer
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology