Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Mar 19, 2025; 15(3): 101748
Published online Mar 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i3.101748
Analysis of anxiety and depression status and related factors among mothers of children in neonatal intensive care unit
Fen Xu, Ling-Ling Shi, Li Gao
Fen Xu, Ling-Ling Shi, Li Gao, Department of Neonatology, Suzhou Ninth Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Suzhou 215200, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Xu F and Shi LL performed research and wrote the manuscript; Xu F, Shi LL, and Gao L conceived the research, analyzed data, and provided guidance for the research; and all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethic Committee of Suzhou Ninth Hospital affiliated to Soochow University.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ling-Ling Shi, Department of Neonatology, Suzhou Ninth Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, No. 2666 Ludang Road, Taihu New Town, Wujiang District, Suzhou 215200, Jiangsu Province, China. 1832441574@qq.com
Received: November 13, 2024
Revised: December 23, 2024
Accepted: January 6, 2025
Published online: March 19, 2025
Processing time: 104 Days and 21.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Newborns are immediately admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) after birth, and thus mothers suffer from the pain of mother-infant separation. Some mothers worry about alterations in their child’s condition and the uncertainty and high medical costs of possible sequelae, which frequently cause anxiety, depression, and other adverse emotions.

AIM

To investigate the anxiety and depression status of mothers of children in the NICU and its related factors.

METHODS

A convenient sampling method is adopted. The research objects included the mothers of 191 children in the NICU of Suzhou Ninth Hospital Affiliated with Suzhou University from January 2023 to July 2024. The general information questionnaire, personal control scale, self-rating anxiety scale, and self-rating depression scale were utilized for investigation. Anxiety and depression status in mothers of children in the NICU and its related factors were analyzed.

RESULTS

The incidences of maternal anxiety and depression among 191 hospitalized children in the NICU were 32.98% (63/191) and 23.56% (45/191), respectively. Single-factor analysis reveals that family monthly income, individual sense of control, gestational age of the child, and the number of diseases in the child are associated with the anxiety and depression experienced by the mother of the child in the NICU (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that family monthly income of < 5000 yuan (RMB), poor individual control, gestational age of < 32 weeks, and the number of diseases of ≥ 3 kinds are all related factors for anxiety and depression in mothers of children admitted to the NICU (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Mothers of children admitted to the NICU demonstrated high anxiety and depression incidences. The nursing staff in the neonatal department established intervention measures for each related factor, strengthened communication and communication with the mother of the child, and did a good job in psychological counseling.

Keywords: Neonatal intensive care unit; Mother; Anxiety; Depression; Personal control; Influence factor

Core Tip: The closed management of the neonatal intensive care unit can protect newborns, but it causes mothers to feel the pain of separation and increase negative emotions such as anxiety and depression. This study revealed that family economic income, poor individual control, young gestational age of the child, and the number of diseases in the child are all factors that increase maternal anxiety and depression. This provides good guidance for clinical nursing to establish corresponding nursing measures according to related factors, strengthen communication and interaction with the mother of the child, provide psychological counseling, and reduce maternal anxiety and depression.