Infants in Crisis : How Parents Cope with Newborn Intensive Care and Its Aftermath

The emotional impact of having a newborn hospitalized in an intensive care unit is immense. The parents' perceptions of the child's fragility and of their role in the vulnerable child's life represent important facts of the crisis in which the infant and the parents are involved. Such early stress marks the child's later development which may include chronic ailments and learning disabilities. This book explores a whole spectrum of psychological questions raised by the birth of medically fragile infants, from the parents' ability to restore a sense of meaning and mastery in the face of the profound challenges confronting them, to the importance of social support and coping strategies, and finally, to the crisis of newborn intensive care in the context of the marital relationship. Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-10 Background and Description of the Study....Pages 11-28 The Search for Meaning....Pages 29-43 The Search for Mastery....Pages 44-59 The Search for Causes....Pages 60-74 Coping Strategies in the Hospital....Pages 75-84 The Search for Social Support....Pages 85-98 Mothers’ Remembrances of Newborn Intensive Care....Pages 99-115 Mothers, Fathers, and Couples....Pages 116-125 Summary and Discussion....Pages 126-143 Back Matter....Pages 144-156