Anxiety Following the Hospitalization of an Infant

Anxiety for Infants

• In the past, health care professionals thought premature babies had limited sensory abilities. However, studies done as early as 1991 tell a different story. Neonatologists learned that even very premature babies can feel pain, and respond to smell, touch and sound. According to the Zero to Three website, too little or too much stimulation can negatively affect how well premature babies respond to their parents later. Many fragile infants respond better and breathe better when their parents are holding them skin-to-skin in a quiet area of the hospital room. When a baby goes from a quiet hospital to a home with normal activity, she may be startled by every new sensation and experience stimulus overload, which can lead to anxiety for the infant because she doesn't know what to expect. Giving the baby time to regroup in a quiet, darkened room can help her have time to process what is going on and reduce her anxiety levels.

Separation Anxiety in Infants and Siblings

• Older infants have more fears. Separation anxiety is a normal phase for older infants. The baby recognizes that Mom or Dad is vital and experiences anxiety and stress when Mom is gone. If the hospitalization necessitated separating the infant from the mother, the infant may experience heightened anxiety long after hospitalization. After all, the baby doesn't understand the separation. Mom disappeared once; she may disappear again at any moment. In addition, separation anxiety can also occur in the siblings of hospitalized infants. Many hospitals welcome and encourage parents to spend time with premature and fragile infants. If the infant is in a critical care unit, young visitors may not be allowed in. This means that toddler and preschool siblings may spend long hours away from Mom and Dad. Older children may also feel the disruption of a home without both parents. Even after the infant is home, the sibling may still fear that Mom or Dad will be taken away or that the parents won't have time for the sibling.

Parental Anxiety

• Parents can feel helpless in the face of the medical needs of an ill or fragile infant. A 2008 study done by Ohio State University found that, without intervention, mothers reported that they continued to feel stress and depression long after their premature babies were discharged from the NICU. As the children grew, many mothers persisted in seeing their child as vulnerable and fragile, even if the child was otherwise considered healthy as a preschooler. Many mothers stated that they continued to worry and feel very protective of the now healthy child, which often affected how they interacted with and parented their child. Both parents and teachers reported that these children had more social adjustment problems, such as aggression.

What Parents Can Do

• Parents of a hospitalized infant have many avenues of help. Contact the Child or Family Life Specialist in the hospital to help explain what is happening to the infant's siblings or to find resources to turn to after the hospitalization ends. Many hospitals have programs in place to help parents deal with their anxiety concerning a fragile or ill infant. These programs often continue long after the infant has been released and may include counseling or other support. Help siblings find a role in the infant's recovery to help ease their anxiety about the situation. Many hospitals have childcare or bonding experiences for siblings of hospitalized infants. Ask for help from family, friends or the community. Caring for a child and for the child's siblings after hospitalization can be difficult as everyone adjusts to being together again and works toward creating a healthy, emotionally stable environment. Parents must make sure that they take care of their own physical and emotional needs in order to be there for their children.