Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if newborn hearing screening increases maternal anxiety. Mothers whose infants were screened for hearing were asked how worried they were prior to hospital discharge and again six weeks later. They were also asked if they were more concerned about their baby’s hearing than they were about other aspects of the infant’s health and behavior.
Results showed that mothers worried as much or more about many other aspects of their infants’ health and behavior as about hearing. Mothers whose infants had a false positive screening result were initially more worried about hearing than other aspects of their infant’s health, but this effect disappeared within six weeks. There were no significant differences at Time 1 or Time 2 for maternal anxiety as measured by the State Trait Anxiety Inventory between mothers whose infants had a false positive hearing screen compared to mothers of infants who passed their initial hearing screen.
Participation in newborn hearing screening is not associated with undue worry among mothers of newborns.
Recommended Citation
Tueller, S. J. & White, K. R. (2016). Maternal Anxiety Associated with Newborn Hearing Screening. Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention, 1(1), 87-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15142/T3ZW2R
Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/jehdi/vol1/iss1/11
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Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities Commons, Disability and Equity in Education Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons, Public Health and Community Nursing Commons, Speech Pathology and Audiology Commons
