Sociodemographic characteristics of maternal presence in neonatal intensive care: an intersectional analysis

Maternal presence in the Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) supports infant and maternal health, yet mothers face visitation challenges. Based on intersectionality theory, we hypothesized that mothers of Black infants with lower socioeconomic status (SES) living further from the hospital would demonstrate the lowest rates of maternal presence.

We extracted infant race, Medicaid status, and maternal home address from 238 infant medical charts. The primary outcome was rate of maternal presence. Generalized linear modeling and binomial regression were employed for analysis.

Medicaid status was the strongest single predictor of lower rates of maternal presence. Having lower SES was associated with lower rates of maternal presence in mothers of white infants, and living at a distance from the hospital was associated with lower maternal presence in mothers of higher SES.

Interventions to support maternal presence in the NICU should address resource-related challenges experienced by mothers of lower SES.