Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Parental assessment of comfort in newborns affected by life-limiting conditions treated by a standardized neonatal comfort care program

Abstract

Objective:

To assess the perception of parents concerning the state of comfort maintained in their infants born with life-limiting conditions and treated by a standardized neonatal comfort care program.

Study Design:

Participants were parents (n=35 families) who elected comfort care for their newborns diagnosed with life-limiting conditions. Standardized comfort measures including family/infant bonding, warmth, nutrition/hydration and pain/discomfort management were provided to all infants. Parents consented to receive a questionnaire with quantitative response options and open-ended questions.

Results:

Forty-two questionnaires (26 from mothers and 16 from fathers) were collected and analyzed. Most parents reported that their child was treated with respect, in a caring, peaceful and non-invasive environment. To the question ‘Do you think that overall your baby received comfort’ mode response was ‘always’.

Conclusion:

Parents of infants with life-limiting conditions perceive that their babies experience comfort as a result of the care provided by the standardized Neonatal Comfort Care Program.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Carter BS, Jones PM . Evidence-based comfort care for neonates towards the end of life. Semin Fetal Neonatal Med 2013; 18: 88–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Widger K, Picot C . Parents’ perceptions of the quality of pediatric and perinatal end-of-life care. Pediatr Nurs 2008; 34: 53–58.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Falck A, Moorthy S, Hussey-Gardner B . Perceptions of palliative care in the NICU. Adv Neonatal Care 2016; 16: 191–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Branchett K, Stretton J . Neonatal palliative and end of life care: what parents want from professionals. J Neonatal Nurs 2012; 18: 40–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Cortezzo DE, Sanders MR, Brownell EA, Moss K . End-of-life care in the neonatal intensive care unit: experiences of staff and parents. Am J Perinatol 2015; 32: 713–724.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Parravicini E, Lorenz MJ . Neonatal outcomes of fetuses diagnosed with life-limiting conditions when individualized comfort measures are proposed. J Perinatol 2014; 34: 483–487.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Fetterman AK, Bair JL, Werth M, Landkammer F, Robinson MD . The scope and consequences of metaphoric thinking: using individual differences in metaphor usage to understand how metaphor functions. J Pers Soc Psychol 2016; 110: 458–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Graves D . Talking with Bereaved People: An Approach for Structured and Sensitive Communication. Jessica Kingsley Publishers: Philadelphia, 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Kymre IG, Bondas T . Skin-to-skin care for dying preterm newborns and their parents—a phenomenological study from the perspective of NICU nurses. Scand J Caring Sci 2013; 27: 669–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Anand KJS, Hall RW . Love, pain, and intensive care. Pediatrics 2008; 121: 825–827.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Bellieni CV, Tei M, Coccina F, Buonocore G . Sensorial saturation for infants’ pain. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2012; 25: 79–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Carbajal R, Veerapen S, Couderc S, Jugie M, Ville Y . Analgesic effect of breast feeding in terms neonates: randomized controlled trial. BMJ 2003; 326: 13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Gray L, Watt L, Blass E . Skin-to-skin contact is analgesic in healthy newborns. Pediatrics 2000; 105: e14.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Samsel C, Lechner BE . End-of-life care in a regional level IV neonatal intensive care unit after implementation of a palliative care initiative. J Perinatol 2015; 35: 223–228.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Younge N, Smith PB, Goldberg RN, Brandon DH, Simmons C, Cotton CM et al. Impact of a palliative care program on end-of-life care in a neonatal intensive care unit. J Perinatol 2015; 35: 218–222.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Committee on Fetus and Newborn, Section on Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine. Prevention and management of procedural pain in the neonate: an update. Pediatrics 2016; 137: e20154271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. McGuirl J, Campbell D . Understanding the role of religious views in the discussion about resuscitation at the threshold of viability. J Perinatol 2016; 36: 694–698.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Henderson JL . “It's Like Going Home To Emptiness” Becoming a Mother and Providing Mother's Milk to Premature Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Latina Mother's Perspective. Columbia University Academic Commons, 2015. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.7916/D8RR1XQD.

  19. Carter BS . Liminality in pediatric palliative care. Am J Hosp Palliat Care 2017; 34: 297–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Currie ER, Christian BJ, Hinds PS, Perna SJ, Robinson C, Day S et al. Parent perspectives of neonatal intensive care at the end-of-life. J Pediatr Nurs 2016; 31: 478–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Carter BS, Brown JB, Brown S, Meyer EC . Four wishes for Aubrey. J Perinatol 2012; 32: 10–14.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Cote-Arsenault D, Denney-Koelsch E . “Have no regrets:” parents' experiences and developmental tasks in pregnancy with a lethal fetal diagnosis. Soc Sci Med 2016; 154: 100–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Ramdaney A, Hashmi SS, Monga M, Carter R, Czerwinski J . Support desired by women following termination of pregnancy for a fetal anomaly. J Genet Couns 2015; 24: 952–960.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Badenhorst W, Hughes P . Psychological aspects of perinatal loss. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 2007; 21: 249–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Christiansen DM, Elklit A, Olff M . Parents bereaved by infant death: PTSD symptoms up to 18 years after the loss. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 2013; 35: 605–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Knapp TR . Treating ordinal scales as interval scales: an attempt to resolve the controversy. Nurs Res 1990; 39: 121–123.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Parravicini E . Neonatal palliative care. Curr Opin Pediatr 2017; 29: 135–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to E Parravicini.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Parravicini, E., Daho', M., Foe, G. et al. Parental assessment of comfort in newborns affected by life-limiting conditions treated by a standardized neonatal comfort care program. J Perinatol 38, 142–147 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2017.160

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2017.160

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links