Premature Birth
Conditions
Keywords
sensitivity training, mother-infant interaction
Brief summary
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a culturally adapted version of the Mother-Infant Transaction Program (MITP) among Chinese mothers with premature infants in public hospitals in Hong Kong.
Detailed description
Potential participants at two public hospitals in Hong Kong were identified by ward nurses. Mother-infant dyads with infants born at 36 weeks or earlier were assessed for eligibility. Data collection was conducted after obtaining written consent from the mothers. Mother-infant dyads who met the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated to either the intervention or the treatment-as-usual control group. Each dyad was assessed at six time points, i.e., baseline, immediately after intervention/TAU, and when the infants were at the gestation-corrected ages of 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALMother-Infant Transaction Program
Parent sensitivity training for mothers of premature infants
BEHAVIORALTreatment as usual
Standard hospital care and parental support
Sponsors
Hospital Authority, Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
All individual assessments were conducted by a clinical psychologist at the hospital who was blinded to the experimental condition of the participants.
Intervention model description
Randomized controlled trial
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Mothers with premature infants born at 36 weeks or earlier
Exclusion criteria
* insufficient spoken and written Chinese ability of the mother * mother under 18 years of age * triplets or higher multiples * infants with congenital abnormalities (e.g., metabolic disorder, chromosomal disorder)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Infant's temperament | At baseline prior to intervention | Infant's soothability based on the Infant Behavior Questionnaire. A higher average score denotes higher soothability of the infant, and the highest possible score is 7. |
| Behavioral observation of mother-infant interactions | At baseline prior to intervention | Maternal sensitivity and quality of mother-infant interaction measured by coding a 5-min video of mother-infant interaction. The coded variables are rated on a 5-point scale, and higher scores indicate higher maternal sensitivity and better interaction quality. |
| Maternal postnatal depression | At baseline prior to intervention | Maternal depression measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Possible scores range from 0 to 30. Higher scores indicate higher levels of depression. |
| Parenting stress | At baseline prior to intervention | Parenting stress measured by the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. Possible scores range from 36 to 180. Higher scores indicate higher levels of parenting stress. |
| Infant's weight gain | At infant's corrected age of 3 months | Infant's weight gain from birth |
| Infant's developmental outcomes | At infant's corrected age of 3 months | Measured by the Cognitive Battery of the Merrill-Palmer-Revised Scales of Development, which includes assessments in the cognitive, receptive language, and fine motor domains. Higher scores denote better performance in the assessments |
Countries
Hong Kong
Outcome results
None listed