The Effect of Family-centered Care Program on Maternal Attachment in Mothers of Premature Infants

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The birth of a premature infant is associated with long – term hospitalization and separation from family. Hospitalization of the infant affects the attachment between the infant and mother and affects the quality of care given to the infant by mother and increases the risk of delayed behavioral problems. Therefore, the present study aims to analyze the effect of family-centered care program on maternal attachment in mothers of premature infants. METHODS: In this clinical trial, 60 mothers of premature infants with gestational age of 30 to 36 weeks, hospitalized in neonatal intensive care unit of Motahari Hospital were selected using convenient non-probability sampling and were randomly divided into two groups of control and intervention (30 mothers in each group). The family-centered care program was performed on intervention group in three steps: In the beginning of infant care, before the fourth day of hospitalization and before discharge, while the control group was only under the usual care. The level of maternal attachment was measured using Avant's mother-infant attachment behavior questionnaire and each dimension of attachment behavior was scored from 0 to maximum based on care (45), proximity (45) and emotional (37) behavior (IRCT: 2017021914454N3) FINDINGS: The total score of maternal attachment increased from 34.3±5.1 to 61.6±4.5 in intervention group and increased from 33.1±4.2 to 37.8±3.7 in control group. There is a significant difference between the two groups in terms of total score of attachment between mother and premature infant (p