Objective: Aims for this literature review included synthesizing and critically examining qualitative and quantitative research related to 1) mothers’ anxiety when their babies were admitted to and discharged from NICU, and 2) interventions NICU nurses use to alleviate maternal anxiety while their infants are in NICU. 

Design: A systematic review of qualitative and quantitative research studies published between 1998 and 2011 was undertaken using the following databases: MEDLINE, PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Ebscohost, Psychinfo, Science Direct, and OVID.

Setting: A systematic review of qualitative and quantitative research

Patients/Participants: The search yielded a total of 108 citations, of which 40 articles were identified by title as potentially appropriate, 18 were retained based upon review of their abstracts and meeting inclusion criteria and review purpose.

Methods: Of the eighteen studies reviewed, twelve (two mixed methods, five qualitative, and five quantitative studies) described mothers’ experiences when their preterm infants were in the NICU. Six studies (five quantitative and one qualitative) described nursing interventions to alleviate anxiety of the mothers while babies were in NICU.

Results: Findings revealed that mothers of preterm infants reported guilt, stress, anxiety, depression, and loss of control during hospitalization of their infants to NICU. Studies also noted varied nursing interventions to alleviate mothers’ anxiety (massaging, skin-skin contact, or communicating with nurses).

Conclusion/Implications for nursing practice: Further research is needed to evaluate factors affecting changes in mothers’ anxiety over time and to compare effectiveness of specific nursing interventions to alleviate mothers’ anxiety at the time of discharge of the preterm baby from NICU. Such research could affect nurses' planning of care and use of interventions to alleviate maternal distress.

Keywords:  Preterm infants, Anxiety of mothers, nursing interventions, systematic review