RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the single-family room (SFR)-neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is associated with improved 18-month neurodevelopmental outcome, especially in infants of mothers with high maternal involvement. STUDY DESIGN: An 18-month follow-up was undertaken that compared infants born <30 weeks gestational age; 123 from a SFR-NICU vs 93 from an open-bay NICU. Infants were divided into high vs low maternal involvement based on days/week of kangaroo care, breast/bottle feeding, and maternal care. Infants with high vs low maternal involvement in the SFR and open-bay NICUs were compared on the Bayley Cognitive, Language, and Motor scores and Pervasive Developmental Disorders autism screen. RESULTS: There were more mothers in the high maternal involvement SFR than in the high maternal involvement open-bay group (P = .002). Infants with high maternal involvement in both NICUs had greater Cognitive (P = .029) and Language (P < .000) scores than infants with low maternal involvement. Effect sizes within NICU were moderate to large in the SFR-NICU for Language scores and moderate for the Language composite in the open-bay NICU. The number of days of maternal involvement was greater in the SFR than open-bay NICU (P < .000), and length of stay was shorter in the high maternal involvement SFR than high maternal involvement open-bay NICU (P = .024). Kangaroo and maternal care predicted Cognitive (kangaroo, P = .003) and Language scores (P = .015, P = .032, respectively). Infants with ≥1 symptom of autism were more likely to be in the open-bay low maternal involvement group vs the SFR high maternal involvement group (OR = 4.91, 95% CI = 2.2-11.1). CONCLUSIONS: High maternal involvement is associated with improved 18-month neurodevelopmental outcome, especially in infants cared for in a SFR-NICU.