Introduction
Margaret Parker, MD, MPH, a professor of pediatrics, is examining how financial support for low-income mothers of preterm infants can impact parental caregiving in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This study is funded by awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the March of Dimes Foundation.
Research and Grants
In 2022, Dr. Parker, the academic chief of the Division of Neonatology in the Department of Pediatrics, and Margaret McConnell, PhD, associate professor of global health economics at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, received a five-year, $3.5 million NIH grant. This grant supports a randomized clinical trial to study the effects of financial support on the caregiving behaviors of low-income mothers with preterm infants in the NICU. Recently, the March of Dimes Foundation awarded an additional $200,000 to further explore the influence of racism in perinatal care within this trial.
Exploring Racism in NICU Care
The March of Dimes funding will allow researchers to investigate critical aspects of racism in NICU settings, including maternal perceptions of discrimination and overall NICU care quality. Parker and McConnell aim to understand how financial support affects maternal caregiving behaviors across various racial and ethnic groups. This grant enables the inclusion of additional measures to assess mothers’ experiences of discrimination and their perceptions of care quality.
Importance of Financial Support
The clinical trial will enroll 420 low-income mothers of preterm infants (born at 24 to 33 weeks’ gestation) to receive either a weekly $160 cash benefit via prepaid debit card during their infants’ hospitalization or standard care. The cash benefit is intended to help mothers overcome financial barriers to being present in the NICU, such as transportation, parking, childcare costs, and rent. Both groups will have access to hospital-grade breast pumps to support breastfeeding.
Enhancing Maternal Presence
Dr. Parker emphasized the importance of financial support in reducing stressors related to mother-infant separation during extended NICU stays, which typically range from four to eight weeks. She noted that increased maternal presence in the NICU, facilitated by financial support, can significantly benefit both short-term and long-term infant health outcomes through practices like breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact.
Study Implementation
The study will begin enrolling participants within the next six months across four NICU sites: UMass Memorial Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, Baystate Medical Center, and Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. This research aims to provide insights into how financial and racial factors influence the quality of neonatal care and maternal caregiving practices.