Parental Engagement, Social Support, and Stress in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Background: Parents of preterm infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) often experience an alteration of their parental role due to the infant’s critical illness, need for life-saving therapies, and prolonged separation. Parental engagement in activities like kangaroo care can help establish the parental role and encourage more secure attachment. However, differences in social support and variation in parental response to stressors can affect their abilities to participate in these activities. Although prior studies have investigated the relationship between kangaroo care and postpartum depression, limited studies have …