OBJECTIVE:

To identify the level of stress and the most stressful situations for fathers

Of newborns admitted into the NICU.

INTRODUCTION

Stress is the body’s normal reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response.

It is the psychological and physical strain or tension generated by physical, emotional or any factor,

Which are difficult for the body to endure or manage.

Our study, focuses on the psychological aspect of stress. It is vital to research on stress, its causes, and

The effects they can have on an individual. The effects NICU related stress can have on the fathers include: anxiety, depression and fatigue which alter parenting behaviour and parent-infant interaction.

This study focuses to identify stressful situations for father with the hope of implementing strategies to alleviate stress level.

METHOD

Descriptive study with a quantitative approach developed in the NICU of the Regional Pediatric Hospital of Ternopil State.

Fathers of the hospitalized newborns participated in the study. Inclusion criteria were:

- Father must have visited the NICU at least twice.

- Child must have been to the NICU for at least 4 days.

- All babies must be term, at least 38 weeks of gestation.

Data were collected within December 2018 and February 2019.

We divided our study into two blocks;

Block A- Socio-demographic profile of the father which was composed of variables: age, marital status, number of children, occupation, educational status.

PSS: NICU has 26 items distributed in three sub scales measures stress relating to:

A)Light and sounds. B)Appearance and behaviour of the baby and C)Alteration of role of father. Scores from 1-5 were used to indicate the level of stress.

RESULTS

12 fathers of newborns admitted to the NICU participated in the study. With an average of 28.6 years. It was evidenced that the sub scale with the least level of stress was ‘Sounds and Light’ with an average of 2.0833. Average answers of this sub scale varied from 1.917-2.6. The most stressful situation in this sub scale were ‘sudden noise of monitors’(2.666), With the least stressful situation being ‘Large number of people working in the unit’ (1.917). The sub scale ‘appearance and behaviour of baby’ (average= 2.833) had averages ranging from (1.5-3.333), with the most stressful being ‘When baby is in pain’(3.33).

The sub scale with the greatest level of stress was ‘Paternal role’  with averages varying from2.166-3.583. With the most stressful situation being ‘feeling helpless and unable to protect my child from pain’(3.583) and ‘being seperated from my baby’ (3.5).

The average of the research was 2.833 which was quite a number.

CONCLUSION

Fathers of the newborns showed highest level of stress at ‘Alterations of parental role’ average=2.583. ). The results of the research goes far to show that the situations in the NICU causes stress in fathers, this might be due to the fact that the roles performed by the father isn’t possible. Or the fact that the fathers feel incapable of taking care of their own or being able to protect them from pain

In this regard, NICU professionals can provide the procedures necessary to help create contact between father and child, and they can be able to better provide help and comfort for their babies, this we believe will reduce the level of stress.