Prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder in mothers of preterm infants using trauma-focused group therapy: Manual development and evaluation

Background: Preterm birth has been associated with a number of adverse maternal psychological outcomes.

Aims: The current study aims to develop and evaluate the feasibility of a trauma-focused group intervention that is designed to reduce maternal symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress in a sample of mothers of preterm infants hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Study design: The study was a one-group pre-/post quasi-experimental design. Participants received a 6-session intervention targeting parental trauma.

Subjects: English-speaking mothers (N = 19) greater than 18 years of age of infants 23-34 weeks gestational age hospitalized in the NICU at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford.

Outcome measures: Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II), Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS).

Results: Results from the study indicate that the intervention is feasible, able to be implemented with a high degree of fidelity, is rated as highly satisfactory by participants, and leads to statistically significant reductions in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress at 6-week and 6-month follow-ups.

Conclusions: Though encouraging, these findings are preliminary, and future studies should strive to reproduce these findings with a larger sample size and a comparison group.