Table 5.
Effectiveness on maternal/parental outcomes
| Maternal/parental outcomes | Review | Intervention | Effectiveness of the intervention on outcome | Additional information on impact | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive impact | No impact | Inconclusive | ||||
| Quality of mother–infant relationship for mothers | Evans et al., 2014 [26] | GP | √ | – | – | Large effect sizes using observation measure (2.09) and interview measure (1.20) |
| SM-NSTEP-P | √ | – | – | Positive impact for mothers with low education, with effect size 0.86 | ||
| Brett et al., 2011 [25]a | Parent support groups/parent led peer support | √ | – | – | Evidence reported from a non-RCT study for mothers of critically ill preterm babies | |
| Maternal/parental stress alleviation | Benzies et al. 2013 [30] | M-MITP, NBAS, COPE, PBIP, IBAIP | – | – | √ | Pooled effect z = 0.40 (p = 0.69) |
| Brett et al., 2011 [25]a | COPE, MITP, NIDCAP | √ | – | – | Evidence reported from four high quality and well conducted RCTs. No significant reduction in parental stress from NIDCAP at 1–2 weeks after the baby was born | |
| Home support programmes where parents are visited regularly for the first year and for upto three years afterwards | √ | – | – | Based on RCT evidence with high risk of bias. Specific details of the intervention unclear | ||
| McGregor et al., 2012 [35] | KC | √ | – | – | Reduction in stressful situations (32%), heart rate (7%) and Pain Visual Analogue Scale score (89%) | |
| Zhang et al., 2014 [24] | M-MITP, COPE, MITP | √ | – | – | Impact until the baby is 12 months old with MITP | |
| Reduction in maternal/parental anxiety | Benzies et al. 2013 [30] | COPE, VIBeS Plus, NBAS | √ | – | – | Positive pooled effect z = 2.54 (P = 0.01) |
| Zhang et al., 2014 [24] | Not specified | – | √ | – | Used State Trait Anxiety Inventory scale to measure anxiety | |
| Brett et al., 2011 [25]a | KC | √ | – | – | Significant reduction in maternal anxiety around her infant. RCT evidence showing music during KC resulted in significantly lower maternal anxiety | |
| Reduction in maternal depressive symptoms | Benzies et al. 2013 [30] | COPE, VIBeS Plus, M-MITP, | √ | – | – | Positive pooled effect z = 4.04(P < 0.0001) |
| Zhang et al., 2014 [24] | MITP, COPE | √ | – | – | Positive impact on depressive symptoms after the infant was discharged home. Statistical significance not reported | |
| Brett et al., 2011 [25]a | KC | √ | – | – | Significantly less postnatal depression compared with the controls at 37 weeks | |
| Maternal self-efficacy | Benzies et al. 2013 [30] | NBAS | √ | – | – | Pooled effect z = 2.05 (P = 0.04) |
| Parental confidence/ competence/ satisfaction | Goyal et al., 2013 [33] | Home visiting programmes | √ | – | – | Name of the interventions not specified |
| Brett et al., 2011 [25]a | MITP, KC | √ | – | – | MITP significantly improved maternal satisfaction and maternal self-confidence. KC provided the mother with a significantly greater sense of competence with their infant | |
| Breast feeding support programmes | √ | – | – | Improved the confidence of mothers in breastfeeding | ||
| NIDCAP | – | √ | – | RCT evidence showing no impact at 1–2 weeks after birth | ||
| Mother’s/Parents’ interaction with infants | Brett et al., 2011 [25]a | Discharge planning programmes | √ | – | – | Based on RCT evidence with high risk of bias. Specific details of the intervention unclear |
| Home support programmes | √ | – | – | Based on RCT evidence with high risk of bias. Specific details of the intervention unclear | ||
| KC | √ | Significantly greater sensitivity towards her infant. Effect size not reported. Better infant interaction, more touch, better adaptation to infant cues and better perception of their infant at all time periods. | ||||
| Mother’s coping skills | Zhang et al., 2014 [24] | COPE | – | – | √ | Both positive and no impact reported. |
| Preparing parents to see infant for first time | Brett et al., 2011 [25]a | Use of photograph | √ | – | – | Reported positive effect based on a well conducted RCT |
| Parents’ emotional and practical guidance | Brett et al., 2011 [25]a | Home based support programmes | √ | – | – | aRCT (1-), interventions unclear |
aBrett et al., [25] used evidence from RCTs with the strength of evidence reported using Scottish Intercollegiate Grading Network guideline
Interventions: COPE Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment, GP Guided participation, IBAIP Infant Behavioural Assessment and Intervention Program, KC Kangaroo Care, M-MITP Modified Mother Infant transaction programme, MITP Mother–Infant Transaction Program, NBAS Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale, NIDCAP Newborn Individualised Developmental & Assessment Programme, NSTEP-P Nursing Systems Towards Effective Parenting-Preterm, PBIP Parent-Baby Interaction Programme, SM State Modulation, VIBeS Plus Victorian Infant Brain Studies