Family Nurture Intervention in the CHoNJ NICU

NCT ID: NCT02352142

Last Updated: 2016-09-26

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

TERMINATED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

54 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2015-01-31

Study Completion Date

2016-05-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

The purpose of this proposal is to conduct a replication study of Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) at CHoNJ. FNI facilitates mother-infant interactions that are vital to early development. These include early and repeated mother/infant calming interactions during the NICU stay, such as interactive touch with vocal soothing, sustained reciprocal olfactory exposure and family practice in comforting, and systematically implemented skin to skin holding. This has already been studied at CHONY. Findings reveal that infants who receive FNI have significant increases in EEG power, a measure of brain activity, near to term age, when compared with those who receive Standard Care.

There will be two groups; STANDARD CARE (SC) and INTERVENTION (FNI). In addition, 10 pilot subjects will be enrolled to train the staff involved in the procedures used in this Randomized Control Trial (RCT). The pilot patients will be enrolled identical to study patients and will be encouraged to participate fully. They will not be included in the analysis of the RCT.

The STANDARD CARE group will receive current standard of care in NICU. The INTERVENTION group, in addition to the standard care, will receive the FNI intervention, which will be facilitated by our Nurture Specialists. In addition to the SC and FNI groups, there will be a third non-randomized group of infants born at term age who will receive standard care for newborns at CHoNJ. Assessments in the NICU will include physiological measures (ECG EEG), measures of maternal sensitivity through recorded mother-infant interactions and a variety of specimen collections (saliva, blood, and breast milk samples). The investigators will be conducting two follow up studies, at 4 months corrected age and at 12 months corrected age. The investigators will test the immediate and long-term effects of this approach to the development of preterm infants.

The investigators hypothesize that this intervention will alter a wide range of indices of physiological regulatory capacities, and increase brain activity as measured by EEG (power and coherence) such that a brain activation pattern in the intervention group will be more similar to that of full term infants as opposed to the standard care group. Longer term indices of mother psychological and infant neurobehavioral outcomes will also be improved when assessed during the first few months of life.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

The purpose of this study is to compare the value of the current approach of encouraging contact between mothers and their babies (Standard Care) in the NICU with a more wide ranging enhanced approach (Family Nurture Intervention). This approach is based on enhancing aspects of maternal nurturing including mother-infant reciprocal calming, which are vital to early development. A specific goal is to improve the mother's view of her baby, reduce negative emotions about having delivered a baby prematurely, and help her gain confidence in her caretaking abilities. Since preterm babies are often easily upset, this study will facilitate mothers in comforting and calming their babies. An earlier study at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York (CHONY) has shown positive outcomes in the enhanced treatment group in a variety of areas, including EEG brain activity at term age. Assessments in the NICU and in secondary follow-up measures at 4, and 12 months of age will test the immediate and long-term effects of this new enhanced approach to the nurture of prematurely born infants. We will undertake a replication study on patients in the NICU at CHoNJ to confirm and further elucidate the positive effects of enhanced nurturing.

We hypothesize that enhanced nurturing will alter a wide range of physiologic regulatory capacities, reduce morbidity, decrease Length of Stay (LOS) and increase brain activity as measured by EEG (power and coherence). In addition this approach may influence a brain activation pattern (particularly in the area of the anterior cerebral cortex responsible for executive decision-making) in the intervention group that is more similar to that of a full term infant. Longer term measures of mother's psychological and infant's neurobehavioral outcomes will also be improved when assessed during the first few months of life.

This study aims to replicate and build on an existing study at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York (CHONY) that compares the current protocol for encouraging mother/infant interactions (standard care) with a multifaceted intervention to enhance mother and infant bonding (Family Nurture Intervention - FNI). The FNI was piloted and studied in a cohort of 150 mother-infant pairs at CHONY beginning in 2009. While the study is ongoing, significant differences in brain activity of these preterm infants was found at term as measured by EEG power in the intervention premature infants as compared to the standard care group, with no increased risk of morbidity or mortality in the intervention group. The study demonstrated that the approach may influence a brain activation pattern (particularly in the area of the anterior cerebral cortex responsible for executive decision-making) in the intervention group that is more similar to that of a full term infant (38-42 weeks gestation).

This and other research warrants the investigation of better intervention strategies that can reduce morbidity and ameliorate adverse outcomes in these infants.

The purpose of this current study is to determine whether the findings from CHONY are replicable, the efficacy of the FNI protocol in improving developmental outcomes in preterm births in a different cohort (at CHoNJ) and to compare the outcomes of patients in two different hospital environments.

The study will again compare the current standard of care in the NICU, which includes periodic skin-to-skin holding, to a Family Nurture Intervention (FNI) which adds other interventions: interactive touch with vocal soothing, sustained reciprocal olfactory exposure, and family modeling and practice in comforting as well as a more systematic implementation of skin-to-skin holding. The behavioral, neurobiological and clinical insights gained from this project may eventually lead to better prevention of developmental disorders, reduced morbidity and more effective clinical intervention strategies both in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and after discharge. We hypothesize that the treated babies will show better results in the primary outcome measure in the short term and secondary long term as compared to infants undergoing standard care.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Premature Birth

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Investigators Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Standard Care

Mothers are given infant care instruction as part of standard care

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Facilitated infant care

Family Nurture Intervention

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Facilitated Infant Care

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Family Nurture Intervention is facilitated by specially trained Nurture Specialists. The intervention involves calming interactions between mother and infant in the isolette via odor exchange, firm sustained touch and vocal soothing, through calming interactions during holding and feeding via the Calming Cycle and through family sessions designed to engage the help and support of family members for the mother.

Full Term EEG

Small group of healthy, Full-Term infants will receive two sleep EEGs (one in unit, and one 4 weeks post discharge) for healthy control comparison to preterm infants

Group Type OTHER

Full Term EEG

Intervention Type OTHER

Full-term infants assigned to this arm of the study will receive one sleep EEG (one hour in duration). These EEGs will be used as healthy control comparisons to those of premature infants at 40 weeks.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Full Term EEG

Full-term infants assigned to this arm of the study will receive one sleep EEG (one hour in duration). These EEGs will be used as healthy control comparisons to those of premature infants at 40 weeks.

Intervention Type OTHER

Facilitated Infant Care

Family Nurture Intervention is facilitated by specially trained Nurture Specialists. The intervention involves calming interactions between mother and infant in the isolette via odor exchange, firm sustained touch and vocal soothing, through calming interactions during holding and feeding via the Calming Cycle and through family sessions designed to engage the help and support of family members for the mother.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

Family Nurture Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Infant is between 26/0 and 32/6 weeks gestational age upon admission for the INTERVENTION / STANDARD care group OR 38-42 weeks for the FULL TERM group
* Infant's weight is appropriate for gestational age (AGA)
* Infant is a singleton
* Mother is 18 years of age or older
* Mother has at least one supporting person in the home (e.g. significant other, mother, father, sibling, aunt, grandmother, step-parent) (not applicable for FULL TERM group)

* Mother and/or infant has a medical condition that precludes intervention components
* Mother and/or infant has a contagion that endangers other participants in the study
* Mother-Infant dyad receives less than one week of intervention (not applicable to the FULL TERM group)

Exclusion Criteria

* Infant's attending does not recommend enrollment in study
* The infant has severe congenital anomalies, including chromosomal anomalies or an Intraventricular Hemorrhage (IVH) Grades 3 and 4
* Mother has known history of substance abuse, severe psychiatric illness or psychosis
Minimum Eligible Age

26 Weeks

Maximum Eligible Age

42 Weeks

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Newark Beth Israel Medical Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Columbia University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Martha G. Welch, MD

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Martha G Welch, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Columbia University Medical Center, Presbyterian Hospital

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Children's Hospital of New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey, United States

Site Status

Columbia University Data Coordinating Center

New York, New York, United States

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Ravn IH, Smith L, Lindemann R, Smeby NA, Kyno NM, Bunch EH, Sandvik L. Effect of early intervention on social interaction between mothers and preterm infants at 12 months of age: a randomized controlled trial. Infant Behav Dev. 2011 Apr;34(2):215-25. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2010.11.004. Epub 2011 Mar 2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21371754 (View on PubMed)

Muller-Nix C, Forcada-Guex M, Pierrehumbert B, Jaunin L, Borghini A, Ansermet F. Prematurity, maternal stress and mother-child interactions. Early Hum Dev. 2004 Sep;79(2):145-58. doi: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2004.05.002.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15324994 (View on PubMed)

Meijssen D, Wolf MJ, van Bakel H, Koldewijn K, Kok J, van Baar A. Maternal attachment representations after very preterm birth and the effect of early intervention. Infant Behav Dev. 2011 Feb;34(1):72-80. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2010.09.009. Epub 2010 Nov 9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21067812 (View on PubMed)

Meijssen D, Wolf MJ, Koldewijn K, Houtzager BA, van Wassenaer A, Tronick E, Kok J, van Baar A. The effect of the Infant Behavioral Assessment and Intervention Program on mother-infant interaction after very preterm birth. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2010 Nov;51(11):1287-95. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02237.x.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20345840 (View on PubMed)

Shah PE, Clements M, Poehlmann J. Maternal resolution of grief after preterm birth: implications for infant attachment security. Pediatrics. 2011 Feb;127(2):284-92. doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-1080. Epub 2011 Jan 17.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21242223 (View on PubMed)

Coppola G, Cassibba R, Costantini A. What can make the difference? Premature birth and maternal sensitivity at 3 months of age: the role of attachment organization, traumatic reaction and baby's medical risk. Infant Behav Dev. 2007 Dec;30(4):679-84. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2007.03.004. Epub 2007 Apr 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17449102 (View on PubMed)

DeBoer RW, Karemaker JM, Strackee J. Comparing spectra of a series of point events particularly for heart rate variability data. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 1984 Apr;31(4):384-7. doi: 10.1109/TBME.1984.325351. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 6745974 (View on PubMed)

Hofer MA. Early social relationships: a psychobiologist's view. Child Dev. 1987 Jun;58(3):633-47.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 3608643 (View on PubMed)

Als H, Lawhon G, Duffy FH, McAnulty GB, Gibes-Grossman R, Blickman JG. Individualized developmental care for the very low-birth-weight preterm infant. Medical and neurofunctional effects. JAMA. 1994 Sep 21;272(11):853-8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8078162 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

AAAN6850

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.