Mother–Infant Relational Quality Following a NICU Stay: Investigating the Role of Maternal Childhood Experiences

A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stay complicates the transition to parenthood for new mothers. Women respond differently to perinatal stressors, which can impact their mental health and relationship with their new baby. Mothers' own histories of adverse and benevolent childhood experiences can also shape their early parenting experiences. This study investigated the relationship between mothers' adverse and benevolent childhood experiences and the observed and reported quality of interactions with their infant at 1 year following a NICU stay. Somewhat unexpectedly, we found that more maternal childhood adversity predicted less intrusive behavior and more responsiveness during a free play interaction at 12 months, while more benevolent childhood experiences predicted higher levels of observed intrusive mothering. Childhood experiences were not related to maternal perceptions of parent-child interaction quality. The length of the NICU stay was positively associated with maternal responsiveness. Findings highlight that childhood risk and protective factors may interact uniquely with a stay in the NICU, with greater adversity and a longer stay predicting more maternal responsiveness and sensitivity. Our study offers evidence that mothers can overcome their own early life challenges, and that overcoming childhood adversity may build resilience that uniquely prepares mothers for the challenge of a NICU stay.