Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Parent-Infant Bond: The Connection Between Parents And Infants In The Nicu, Megan Casselberry, Anita Fagotti, Ava Gambucci, Emma Sardinskas, Carly Scheiner

Collaborative Research and Evidence shared Among Therapists and Educators (CREATE Day)

Objectives

• Define the challenges of parent-infant relations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting
• Discuss the role of occupational therapy in fostering parent-infant bonding in the NICU
• Interpret evidence-based interventions within the scope of occupational therapy practice to promote familial relations and social interactions amongst infants and parents

PICO Question
For infants in the NICU, what are evidence-based interventions within the scope of occupational therapy that increase parent-infant bonding?

Infant Massage And Bonding, Aly Blumenberg, Samantha Davis, Ali Graham, Rachel Medina, Emily Rayder

Master of Occupational Therapy Student Critically Appraised Topics

This project aims to appraise evidence of the effectiveness of infant massage for increasing social-emotional bonding. In our research, we focused on two studies considered Level I evidence and three studies considered Level II evidence. Study designs include quasi-experimental and randomized controlled trials. Strong evidence supports that infant massage increases social-emotional bonding and attachment. Based on the evidence, implementation varied from once per day for 10 minutes to 2-3 times per day for 15 minutes. It is recommended to use infant massage in an acute care setting and in the home to increase social-emotional bonding and attachment.