A study of dyadic adjustment in mothers and fathers of healthy full term and hospitalised premature infants

Abstract

The impact of childbirth is widely regarded as a 'normative crisis', with the impact on a couple's relationship being generally reported as negative, particularly for women. The impact ofthe 'crisis' of premature birth, however, and the consequent extensive period of infant hospitalisation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), on the parental relationship has to date received little research attention. The present study addresses the hypothesis that mothers and fathers of premature infants will report different levels of dyadic adjustment to mothers and fathers of full term infants, and that mothers of premature infants will report different levels of adjustment to their spouses. In this study the parents of healthy full term and hospitalised prematurely born infants completed Spanier's (1976) Dyadic Adjustment Scale immediately following the birth of their baby and again at six to eight weeks post-discharge. The dyadic adjustment total and sub-scale scores are compared for the four groups. Semi-structured interviews with mothers and fathers of premature infants were conducted individually at follow-up, on the sources of marital stress in the NICU. These are transcribed and their content analysed. The findings and their implications are discussed.