What Matters Most: Improving Communication with Families of Periviable Infants

Objective: Little is known about the communication preferences of families of infants born in the periviable stage (20 weeks 0 days to 25 weeks 6 days) during the NICU course. This study aims to describe the communication preferences of parents of infants born in the periviable period. Study Design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 parents of periviable infants who were admitted to a 56-bed, level III NICU in the Southern United States from January 2023 to May 2024. Thematic analysis was performed. Result: Parents identified important preferences, including a desire for medical providers to give anticipatory guidance, to respect parents’ desire to maintain hope for their child, to be attuned to the emotional state of families and be empathetic in communication, and to value each individual family’s circumstances and experiences in the care of their child. Conclusions: Our study provides insight into the communication preferences of families with infants born in the periviable period.