Mothers' Perceptions of Child Vulnerability in Previous Preterm Infants.

Abstract

This research examined whether the same predictive variables of mothers'perceptions of child vulnerability are present for extremely low birth-weight (ELBW) and very low birth-weight (VLBW) infants. Data were collected using 120 infants and 119 mothers. In ELBW infants, days until first bottle feeding, feeding problems, and feeding practices accounted for 69.9% of the variance (p < .001) at four months; feeding problems 49.9% (p < .001) at six months; and days until the first bottle feeding and feeding problems were 41.9% (p < .001) at twelve months. In the VLBW infants, feeding problems and length of stay accounted for 46.9% of the variance (p < .001) at four months; infant length of stay was 15.1% (p < .001) at six months; and there was no significance at twelve months. Mothers' perceptions of child vulnerability can be predicted at four, six and twelve months. The predictive variables may depend on the birth weight category of the infant.