Table 2 The “Moms in the NICU” six key steps and their rationale

1. Enroll mother and initiate birth story.

Allowing a mother to acknowledge her feelings about her experiences, which often can include grief, anger and guilt among parents of premature infants, may have a therapeutic benefit. Active listening begins to form a bond of concern and trust, as well as identifying areas that need to be discussed due to lack of information or misunderstandings.

2. Abstract Maternal Pregnancy History.

Provides key information to the Medical Expert which can then be compared to the mother’s birth story to identify areas not appreciated or misunderstood.

3. Consultation with the Medical Expert.

Continues active listening of birth story, answers questions about mother’s pregnancy, labor and delivery, filling in any gaps in understanding.

Provides case specific health counseling recommendations, emphasizing targeted areas relevant to preterm birth prevention. Begins co-design of the health plan.

4. Assemble Personalized Five Item Health Improvement Handout.

This patient-centric packet of handouts includes: My Birth Story, Health Plan Recommendations, mother’s Plan for her health, optional Physician to Physician Letter and Medical Record Abstraction form.

5. Co-design a Specific “Plan for My Health.”

Identifies long term concerns and agrees upon specific activities that can realistically be accomplished within six weeks of her infant’s discharge. Provides health education materials to support the plan.

6. Schedule Follow-up to Identify Successes and Barriers to Health Plan Activation.

Evaluates a semi-structured phone interview six weeks after the meeting in the NICU to assess short term success of the intervention and record barriers as a basis for future community quality improvement initiatives.