Assessment of Emotional Quotient of Parents of Babies Admitted to NICU

The aim of the study was to identify the impact of birth of a preterm baby on the emotional states of the parent. In addition to this, it also assessed the impact of preterm birth on various aspects of the family life.. Keeping in mind, the assessment of the emotional quotient of parents of NICU admitted babies was carried out by using a prevalidated questionnaire by IBHQ. About 76 parents of NICU admitted babies from NKPSIMS &Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, Nagpur, India. The results show that, there is significant difference seen in the means of daily routine of parent, parental attitude and financial consequences of babies above and below 2 kg of body weight. There is a significant difference observed in the means of parental attitude of babies of primigravida and multipara women. The study also shows that parents' emotional state is positively correlated with their physical state, daily routine, & attitude as well as with financial state. Similarly, positive correlation is seen between their physical state with daily routine, attitude, and financial state. The daily routine of parents is positively correlated with their attitude. While there is a negative correlation observed between the financial state of parent with their daily routine and also with the parents' attitude. This study gives us a broad idea regarding the changes in the attitude of the parents due to the long stay in the NICU. This is also related to parents' counseling & communication skills by NICU staff & junior doctors. It also focuses on the need to improve the counselling abilities of junior doctors with a view to alleviate the anxiety of parents.