A sociodemographic comparison of families of very low-birthweight infants: 1982-1991

Parental preference and ability to participate in web-based developmental screening and surveillance: preliminary evidence for preterm infants after NICU discharge

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this article were (a) to describe prevalence of Internet and email access among parents of preterm infants attending high-risk follow-up, (b) to describe parent preference for completing developmental questionnaires online versus on paper, and (c) to examine predictors of access and preference.

DESIGN/METHODS

We surveyed 270 parents of preterm infants attending a high-risk follow-up clinic about Internet and email access, preference for completing a developmental questionnaire online versus on paper.

RESULTS

Median (interquartile range) gestational age was 28 (26, 30) weeks, and birth weight was 970 (765, 1230) grams. Ninety-five percent of parents had Internet and email access, and 71% preferred completing a developmental questionnaire online versus on paper or were indifferent. Less maternal education, lower family income, and Hispanic ethnicity were associated with less Internet and email access.

CONCLUSIONS

Most families attending a high-risk preterm infant follow-up clinic had Internet and email access and preferred completing developmental questionnaires online to on paper or were indifferent.

Nursing's Contribution to the Literature on Preterm Labor and Birth

Although preterm labor and birth continues to plague us as an unsolved mystery in maternal/child health, much has actually been learned over the past few decades. Most reviews of the preterm labor literature examine the research in an interdisciplinary manner; this article instead looks at the active role that nurses have taken in the research concerning preterm labor and birth. This article will categorize research conducted by nurses over the past 30 years on preterm labor and birth, emphasizing some of the changes in nursing practice engendered by nursing's important research effort.

School age outcome in low birth weight preterm infants

Very low birth weight (VLBW) children at school age show variability in their outcome, compared with normal birth weight children, although many early physical and health differences are equalized by middle childhood. Studies of nonhandicapped VLBW children have found a higher rate of school retention and school problems in this population. Differences in intelligence have been reported, although these are often confounded by socioeconomic factors such as educational level of the parent. Few studies today of children born in the late 1970s and early 1980s have related school age outcome to central nervous system (CNS) status, yet for learning disabilities or other neuropsychological deficits, this may be highly relevant. Better understanding of medical risk factors, however, will not affect the decisive influence of social factors on their expression in the school age child.

Women with diabetes during pregnancy: sociodemographics, outcomes, and costs of care

This study provides sociodemographic, outcome, and cost data on a population (N = 55) of predominately low-income, diabetic women who were hospitalized during pregnancy. Study findings indicated that 43 percent received no prenatal care in the first trimester, 20 percent delivered a low-birthweight infant, 47 percent had a cesarean delivery, and 63 percent reported an annual income under $12,500. Following the women's initial admission for glucose control, 19 acute care visits and 32 rehospitalizations were recorded for them. The mean hospital charges for antepartum initial hospitalization for glucose control were $4,665 (4.3 days). The mean charges for postpartum hospitalization were $7,793 (4.3 days). The mean hospital charges per infant were $12,991. Given the data presented in this study, it is imperative that monies be targeted to provide a broad spectrum of health care services that will meet the unique needs of this population. These services should address not only the needs related to superimposed disease state but also identify mechanisms to assist women to receive care prior to conception, or at the very least to begin prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy.