Sensitivity Training for Parents With Premature Infants

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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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
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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.

Official Title
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Sensitivity Training for Mothers With Premature Infants: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Conditions
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Premature Birth

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Mother-Infant Transaction Program
* Behavioral: Treatment as usual


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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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)

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Randomized controlled trial
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Mother-Infant Transaction Program<br>Four sessions were delivered to the mothers one-on-one based on a manualized protocol while the infants were still in the neonatal intensive care units. These coaching sessions included psychological care for the mother and topics on recognizing premature infant's characteristics, understanding and recognizing signs of infant stress and infant's engagement and disengagement cues, principles of graded stimulation, and how to optimize interactions and avoid over-stimulating the infant. | Behavioral: Mother-Infant Transaction Program<br>* Parent sensitivity training for mothers of premature infants<br>|
| Active Comparator: Treatment as usual<br>For this group, infants and mothers received standard hospital care following the initial baseline assessment; these mothers were invited to ask questions about recommended ways to take care of their infants, but no specific knowledge or skills targeted by the adapted MITP program were taught | Behavioral: Treatment as usual<br>* Standard hospital care and parental support<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Behavioral observation of mother-infant interactions | 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. | At baseline prior to intervention | 
| Behavioral observation of mother-infant interactions | 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. | Immediately after intervention | 
| Behavioral observation of mother-infant interactions | 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. | At infant's corrected age of 3 months | 
| Behavioral observation of mother-infant interactions | 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. | At infant's corrected age of 6 months | 
| Maternal postnatal depression | Maternal depression measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Possible scores range from 0 to 30. Higher scores indicate higher levels of depression. | At baseline prior to intervention | 
| Maternal postnatal depression | Maternal depression measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Possible scores range from 0 to 30. Higher scores indicate higher levels of depression. | Immediately after intervention | 
| Maternal postnatal depression | Maternal depression measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Possible scores range from 0 to 30. Higher scores indicate higher levels of depression. | At infant's corrected age of 3 months | 
| Maternal postnatal depression | Maternal depression measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Possible scores range from 0 to 30. Higher scores indicate higher levels of depression. | At infant's corrected age of 6 months | 
| Parenting stress | 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. | At baseline prior to intervention | 
| Parenting stress | 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. | Immediately after intervention | 
| Parenting stress | 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. | At infant's corrected age of 3 months | 
| Parenting stress | 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. | At infant's corrected age of 6 months | 
| Infant's temperament | 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. | At baseline prior to intervention | 
| Infant's temperament | 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. | Immediately after intervention | 
| Infant's temperament | 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. | At infant's corrected age of 3 months | 
| Infant's temperament | 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. | At infant's corrected age of 6 months | 
| Infant's weight gain | Infant's weight gain from birth | At infant's corrected age of 3 months | 
| Infant's weight gain | Infant's weight gain from birth | At infant's corrected age of 6 months | 
| Infant's weight gain | Infant's weight gain from birth | At infant's corrected age of 9 months | 
| Infant's weight gain | Infant's weight gain from birth | At infant's corrected age of 12 months | 
| Infant's developmental outcomes | 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 | At infant's corrected age of 3 months | 
| Infant's developmental outcomes | 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 | At infant's corrected age of 6 months | 
| Infant's developmental outcomes | 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 | At infant's corrected age of 9 months | 
| Infant's developmental outcomes | 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 | At infant's corrected age of 12 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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sensitivity training, mother-infant interaction