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  • Development
WIRF is one of Australia's leading organisations that is dedicated to improving the health of women and infants.

Laurene Aydon

Laurene Aydon - Research Acceleration Award Recipient

Laurene Aydon

Research Acceleration Award Recipient
  • RESEARCH PROJECT:

    Establishing reliability, usability, and validity of the mother-to-infant bonding scale in a neonatal intensive care unit


    Early identification of difficulties in mother-to-infant bonding specific to the preterm context is important so that appropriate and timely interventions can be provided. Despite this importance, little is known about how to validly and reliably assess bonding difficulties experienced by mothers and their preterm babies in NICU.


    The Mother-to-infant-bonding scale (MIBS) is an 8 item self-reported survey that assesses a mother's feelings towards her infant. The aim of this study is to test the MIBS for reliability, validity, and usability and acceptability in an Australian setting for mothers of preterm infants.

    We will recruit 100 mothers of infants born between 28- and 34+6-weeks’ gestation, whose infants are admitted to the NICU at KEMH.

    We will establish usability, reliability, and validity of the of the MIBS in the neonatal intensive care setting at KEMH to assist nurses and midwives to identify mothers who may be at risk of bonding difficulties and provide support or referral as appropriate.

    Findings from the study will support the use of MIBS in Australian NICU settings for preterm infants, as well as supporting further work to establish the MIBS as a screening tool to identify mothers with bonding difficulties. An appropriate pathway for referral would subsequently be developed in conjunction with stakeholders.
     
For over 40 years, WIRF has conducted and supported research to improve the health of women and infants.

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Women and Infants Research Foundation
Carson House, King Edward Memorial Hospital
374 Bagot Road, Subiaco, WA 6008

Telephone: 08 6458 1437
Fax: 08 6458 1642
Email: info@wirf.com.au

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