NICU Visitation Time and Adherence to Safe Sleep Practices Among Mothers of Very Preterm Infants

Background:Sleep-associated infant death is the leading cause of postneonatal mortality in the United States. Preterm infants are at higher risk for sleep-associated death, but maternal adherence to safe sleep practices is lower than for mothers of full-term infants. Data are lacking on whether maternal neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) visitation time impacts safe sleep compliance after hospital discharge. Purpose:For mothers of preterm infants, to investigate the association of time days per week spent in the NICU and adherence to safe sleep practices after discharge. Methods:A prospective observational study of 109 mothers with infants born at less than 32 weeks from 4 Colorado NICUs who completed a survey at 6 weeks after discharge about infant sleep practices. Maternal time spent in the NICU was defined as the average number of days spent in the NICU per week of infant hospitalization, as documented in the electronic medical record. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed the relationship between time in the NICU and safe sleep adherence. Covariates included maternal/infant characteristics significant at P < .2 level in bivariate analysis. Results:Predictors of compliance with all safe infant sleep practices included public/no insurance compared with private insurance (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.29; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.09-0.96), some college/associate-level education versus bachelor's degree (AOR 5.88; 95% CI 1.21-28.67), and depression/anxiety symptoms (AOR 0.37; 95% CI 0.14-0.97). NICU visitation days was not associated with adherence to safe sleep practices. Implications for Practice and Research:Maternal visitation days was not associated with adherence to safe infant sleep practices after discharge, highlighting the need to identify barriers and facilitators to engaging families about SUID risk-reducing behaviors.

Automated summary

Sleep-associated infant death is a leading cause of postneonatal mortality in the US, and preterm infants are at a higher risk. However, maternal adherence to safe sleep practices is lower for mothers of preterm infants. This study found that maternal visitation days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) were not associated with adherence to safe sleep practices after discharge.