Help for at-risk preemies
A $4.1 million federal grant to the UIC
College of Nursing will develop ways to
improve the early growth and development
of premature infants who have two or
more societal risks.
"Approximately one-half million premature
infants are born each year in the United
States," said Rosemary White-Traut, head
of maternal-child nursing and co-principal
investigator of the five-year study.
Premature birth places the infant at risk for
feeding difficulties, developmental delays,
lower childhood IQ, behavioral problems
and increased health-care costs. Preemies,
born into families with two or more socialenvironmental
risks, such as poverty, low
parental education, adolescent parenthood
or living in a stressful neighborhood, have
multiple stressors and few resources, White-
Traut said.
The study, enrolling 252 premature infants,
uses a clinical model called H-HOPE —
Hospital-home transition: Optimizing
Prematures' Environment. It combines
components from two research programs
previously used by White-Traut and Kathy
Norr, professor of maternal-child nursing and
the new study's co-principal investigator.
During the first component, mothers
spend 10 minutes talking to their infants,
lightly stroking or massaging them and
looking directly into their eyes, followed
by five minutes of rocking. In the second
component, mothers learn about preemie
behavior and feeding.
H-HOPE is the first study to incorporate
programs and evaluate outcomes for both
mother and preemie. Excellent outcomes
would include infants maturing more quickly,
reducing hospital stays, enabling mothers
to have more confidence, less anxiety and
a positive perception of their babies. If
successful, H-HOPE will provide a national
model for improving early infant health and
development, as well as reducing health-care
costs, White-Traut said. Reducing preemie
hospitalization by just three days would save
$2 billion per year.
The grant is funded by the National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development
and the National Institute
of Nursing Research.
Reporting: Sam Hostettler, UIC News Bureau
