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The Effects of a Caregiver-initiated Reading Intervention to Their Infant in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Sponsor: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Summary
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of a caregiver-initiated reading intervention to their infant, in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), on the caregiver-infant dyad, both during hospitalization and following discharge. The specific aims are: Aim 1: To evaluate the primary outcome of infant physiological response, including heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation, when read by their caregiver. Infant heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturations (SpO2) will be measured 15 minutes prior to the intervention, at start of the intervention, 2 minutes into the intervention, and 15 minutes after the intervention is completed. Outcomes will be compared to those of a control group. Aim 2: To explore the secondary outcome of the intervention effect on maternal mental health, as measured by changes in postpartum depression (PPD) scores.
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
Any - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
120
Start Date
2026-09-14
Completion Date
2029-01-15
Last Updated
2026-08-27
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
Reading Intervention
The intervention consists of the following content: 1. Handouts explaining the benefits of reading to your infant will be provided and discussed at the time of enrollment. 2. Instructions outlining that a minimum of 3 reading sessions, lasting at least 2 minutes, should be provided to the infant, and how to log the reading sessions. 3. Information on how to obtain books from the NICU library if choosing to utilize that resource. Parents will be informed that they can bring in their own books from home should they want to.