Investigating the Needs of Mothers Who Have At-Risk Premature and Low-Birth-Weight Infants and Toddlers for Development Delays

The purpose of this study was to determine the needs of mothers who have at-risk infants and toddlers with premature/low birth weight for development delays. The relationship between mothers' needs and some variables regarding mothers (age, educational and economical level) and their infants (age and gender) was also examined using Family Needs Survey (FNS) developed Bailey and Simeonsson (1988) translated and adapted into Turkish by Sucuoglu (1995), and revised by Mert (1997). The participants of the study included 146 mothers who gave birth premature and low-birth-weight infant in 2006-2007 in Eskisehir in Turkey. Results indicated that mothers showed needs in information category. There were no significant differences between mothers' needs and mothers' (age, education level, and income) and infants' (age and gender) variables.