Having an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) elicits maternal anxiety, which may hamper parent−child bonding. We performed a prospective cohort study to describe anxiety in mothers of infants born before 30 weeks of gestation during NICU stay in The Netherlands, and investigated the influence of infant stress and gestational age. Second, we performed a randomized-controlled live-performed music therapy trial (LPMT trial) to investigate whether music therapy applied to the infant alleviated maternal anxiety. The relation between infant stress, gestational age, and maternal anxiety was measured in 45 mother−infant dyads, using the Neonatal Infant Stressor Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The effect of LPMT on anxiety was assessed in 21 mothers whose infants were assigned to either LPMT (n = 12) or waitlist (n = 9). Mothers completed the STAI before and after this period. Maternal anxiety decreased over time in all mothers, and was strongly related with infant stress (r = 0.706, p < 0.001), but not with gestational age. Anxiety scores decreased by 12% after LMPT, and increased by 1% after a waitlist period (p = 0.30). Our results indicate that LPMT in the weeks after birth may accelerate the reduction of maternal anxiety. Further research should focus on the effects on mother−child bonding.

To determine whether the combination of normal or abnormal exaggerated Fidgety Movements (FMs) and asymmetrical finger postures at 3 months corrected age is associated with an increased risk of unilateral cerebral palsy (CP). Prospective cohort study in 139 children born before 30 weeks' gestation and/or with birth weight below 1000 g. At 11.3-13.6 weeks corrected age, we evaluated FMs, finger postures, segmental wrist movements, and head position from 10 min video recordings according to Prechtl General Movements Assessment. Results of neonatal cerebral ultrasound and information about CP diagnosis at five years were extracted from medical records. Sixteen out of 132 children (12.1%) who exhibited normal or abnormal exaggerated FMs demonstrated asymmetrical finger postures. None of those 16 children with asymmetrical finger postures showed asymmetrical segmental wrist movements. We also did not observe any relation with head position. Cerebral ultrasound revealed uni- or bilateral intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) grade 1 at most, in four and two out of the 16 children, respectively. By the age of five, none of the 14 children for whom follow-up data were available had developed CP. In this cohort of preterm-born infants with no or low-grade IVH, asymmetrical finger postures at 3 months corrected age were not associated with unilateral CP at five years if both symmetrical segmental wrist movements and normal or abnormal exaggerated FMs were present.

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) graduates during the first year after birth is unknown. Gaining more insight into parental perspectives on HRQoL in this group may aid healthcare professionals in follow-up care. We aimed to assess HRQoL of NICU graduates during their first year after birth from a parental perspective using the newly developed Infant Quality of Life Instrument mobile application questionnaire. This was a prospective cohort study including NICU graduates of all gestational ages (N = 108). We assessed which of seven HRQoL domains, Sleeping, Feeding, Breathing, Stooling, Mood, Skin, and Interaction, proved most problematic during infants’ first year after birth and whether there were differences between the gestational age groups. The three domains proving most problematic from the parents’ perspective were Feeding (ranging from 14% to 43%), Sleeping (ranging from 23% to 42%), and Interaction (decreasing from 86% to 19%). The trajectories of extremely preterm infants were more frequently problematic than those of other groups. Healthcare professionals should focus on these most problematic domains in their follow-up care.