--- title: Mental Health Interventions for Parents With Newborns in NICU Show Strong Effects description: Parents who are experiencing anxiety, stress or depression due to having a newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) benefit greatly from a range of interventions—both comprehensive psychotherapies and counseling that requires fewer resources. image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/newborn_baby_iStock-2201093100.jpg --- 7/9/26 12:19 PM # Mental Health Interventions for Parents With Newborns in NICU Show Strong Effects ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/mental-health-interventions-for-parents-with-newborns-in-nicu-show-strong-effects) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/mental-health-interventions-for-parents-with-newborns-in-nicu-show-strong-effects) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/mental-health-interventions-for-parents-with-newborns-in-nicu-show-strong-effects) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/mental-health-interventions-for-parents-with-newborns-in-nicu-show-strong-effects) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/mental-health-interventions-for-parents-with-newborns-in-nicu-show-strong-effects) ![newborn_baby_iStock-2201093100](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/newborn_baby_iStock-2201093100.jpg?width=220&height=147&name=newborn_baby_iStock-2201093100.jpg)Parents who are experiencing anxiety, stress or depression due to having a newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) benefit greatly from a range of interventions—both comprehensive psychotherapies and educational approaches that require fewer resources—according to a [report](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2851361) in *JAMA Pediatrics*. The effect sizes for all tested interventions ranged from large to extremely large.   **Why It's Relevant** Having a newborn that requires immediate hospitalization after birth has a profound and often traumatizing impact on a family, with as many as 40% of parents in the NICU having significant health symptoms that can impact long-term mother-infant bonding and infant health. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the large literature on hospital-based interventions and may serve as a guide for hospital systems looking to support parents of babies in the NICU.   **By the Numbers** - The analysis included **160 studies with 16,639 parents (93% mothers) **across six intervention categories: bonding interventions, artistic therapies, psychotherapies, family-centered care, holistic interventions such as meditation, and spiritual interventions. - **Bonding interventions, family-centered care, and psychotherapies **produced large decreases in parent anxiety (Hedges g scores between 0.9 and 1.66). - **Family-centered care, psychotherapies, and holistic interventions **were all associated with strong effects on reducing parent stress.** ** - **Artistic therapies and psychotherapies **were associated with a significant reduction in parent depression. **The Other Side** The included studies had very little representation from fathers or families with diverse family structures or gender identities. Additionally, most of the included studies did not look at long-term outcomes beyond 6 months of age.   **Takeaway Message** Psychotherapies—which included emotional support interventions—demonstrated large and consistent effect sizes across all three parental measures, highlighting the value of integrating mental health practitioners within neonatal settings. However, family-centered care, which encompasses less resource-intensive interventions such as providing families with webcam access to see their infant or allowing parent involvement in medical rounds, also produced strong outcomes—suggesting that these interventions should be a standard of care at NICUs to support families at a critical time.   **Related Information** “[Addressing Maternal Mental Health: Progress, Challenges, and Potential Solutions](https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2021.4.7).”   **Source** Claire Niehouse Milligan, et.al. “Parent mental health interventions in the NICU: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” *JAMA Pediatrics*. Published July 6, 2026. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.2546.   (Image: Getty Images/iStock/Ratchat)   [anxiety](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/anxiety), [stress](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/stress), [psychotherapy](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/psychotherapy), [parents](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/parents), [neonatal care](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/neonatal-care), [family care](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/family-care), [newborn](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/newborn), [bonding](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/bonding), [NICU](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/nicu) ## Related Posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/hand_hospital_iStock-688278724-Jun-24-2025-10-33-19-1699-PM.jpg?height=200&name=hand_hospital_iStock-688278724-Jun-24-2025-10-33-19-1699-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/06/mh-symptoms-of-survivors-of-severe.html) ## [MH Symptoms of Survivors of Severe COVID-19 Improve With Follow-Up Care](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/06/mh-symptoms-of-survivors-of-severe.html) 6/7/23 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2023/06/mh-symptoms-of-survivors-of-severe.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/mother_baby_iStock-587909356-Jun-24-2025-09-27-39-9102-PM.jpg?height=200&name=mother_baby_iStock-587909356-Jun-24-2025-09-27-39-9102-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/06/new-drug-shows-promising-results-in.html) ## [New Drug Shows Promising Results in Treatment of Postpartum Depression](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/06/new-drug-shows-promising-results-in.html) 6/16/17 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2017/06/new-drug-shows-promising-results-in.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/hospital_iStock-1093846702-Jun-24-2025-09-21-37-8067-PM.jpg?height=200&name=hospital_iStock-1093846702-Jun-24-2025-09-21-37-8067-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2022/04/relatives-of-covid-patients-admitted-to.html) ## [Relatives of COVID Patients Admitted to ICU May Experience Significant PTSD Symptoms](https://alert.psychnews.org/2022/04/relatives-of-covid-patients-admitted-to.html) 4/27/22 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2022/04/relatives-of-covid-patients-admitted-to.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2026-07-13T19:00:25.398Z", "datePublished" : "2026-07-09T16:19:03.000Z", "headline" : "Mental Health Interventions for Parents With Newborns in NICU Show Strong Effects", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/newborn_baby_iStock-2201093100.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/mental-health-interventions-for-parents-with-newborns-in-nicu-show-strong-effects", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```