Long‐Term Maternal Stress and Post‐traumatic Stress Symptoms Related to Developmental Outcome of Extremely Premature Infants

In this study, we examined the relations between the severity of developmental outcomes of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) children and their mothers' stress and post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, 4–16 years after birth. Israeli mothers (N = 78) of a cohort of extremely premature infants (24–27 weeks) born 4–16 years earlier were asked to report about the medical and developmental condition of their child and their current perceived stress and PTSD symptoms. Results show that mothers of ELBW children with normal development reported the lowest perceived stress compared with mothers of ELBW children with developmental difficulties. We also found that 25.6% of the mothers had the potential to suffer from PTSD following the birth of an ELBW child. Furthermore, the severity of prematurity developmental outcomes made a significant contribution to mothers' perceived stress. To sum, mothers of ELBW infants' perceived stress is related to their children's severity of prematurity developmental outcomes, 4–16 years after birth. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.