Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2024
Publisher
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Source Publication
Advances in Neonatal Care
Source ISSN
1536-0903
Original Item ID
DOI: 10.1097/ANC.0000000000001122
Abstract
Background:
Infants and families requiring neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) care often experience significant stress and trauma during the earliest period of the infant's life, leading to increased risks for poorer infant and family outcomes. There is a need for frameworks to guide clinical care and research that account for the complex interactions of generational stress, pain, toxic stress, parental separation, and lifelong health and developmental outcomes for infants and families.
Purpose:
Apply the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) framework in the context of the NICU as a usable structure to guide clinical practice and research focused on infant neurodevelopment outcomes and parental attachment.
Methods:
An overview of ACEs is provided along with a detailed discussion of risk at each level of the ACEs pyramid in the context of the NICU. Supportive and protective factors to help mitigate the risk of the ACEs in the NICU are detailed.
Results:
NICU hospitalization may be considered the first ACE, or potentially an additional ACE, resulting in an increased risk for poorer health outcomes. The promotion of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and implementation of trauma-informed care and individualized developmental care potentially counter the negative impacts of stress in the NICU.
Implications for Practice and Research:
Nurses can help balance the negative and positive stimulation of the NICU through activities such as facilitated tucking, skin-to-skin care, mother's milk, and active participation of parents in infant care. Future research can consider using the ACEs framework to explain cumulative risk for adverse health and well-being in the context of NICU care.
Recommended Citation
Malin, Kathryn J.; Vittner, Dorothy; Umber, Darilek; McGlothen-Bell, Kelly; Crawford, Allison; Koerner, Rebecca; Pados, Britt Frisk; Cartegena, Diana; McGrath, Jacqueline M.; and Vance, Ashlee J., "Application of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Framework to the NICU" (2024). College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications. 1002.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/nursing_fac/1002
Comments
Accepted version. Advances in Neonatal Care, Vol. 24, No. 1 (February 2024): 4-13. DOI. © 2024 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc. Used with permission.