Effect of parental involvement on neonatal growth, neurodevelopmental outcome, parental bonding in neonatal care: a
Sharath Hullumani1,2, Irshad Qureshi3, Raghuveer Raghumahanti3
1Vice Dean (R&D), Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research Deemed to be University, Wardha, Maharashtra, India sharathhullumani@gmail.com.
Insights
Parental involvement in neonatal care significantly improves infant health outcomes, including growth and neurodevelopment. This review synthesizes evidence on best practices for family-centered neonatal care.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Health
- Family-Centered Care
- Parental Involvement
Background:
- Active parental involvement is crucial for neonatal health, encompassing infant growth, weight gain, neurodevelopment, and parent-infant bonding.
- Family-centered care models prioritize parental participation, linked to better infant physiological stability, reduced parental stress, and stronger emotional bonds.
- Existing evidence on the benefits of parental involvement in neonatal care requires synthesis to identify best practices and research gaps.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and synthesize evidence on the benefits of parental involvement in neonatal care.
- To identify and highlight best practices in family-centered neonatal care.
- To pinpoint gaps in current research for future investigation.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive search strategy across PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science, plus manual searches.
- Inclusion of randomized controlled trials published between 2000 and January 2025, focusing on neonatal growth, weight gain, neurodevelopment, and parent-infant bonding.
- Dual independent reviewer screening, data extraction, and risk-of-bias assessment, with discrepancies resolved by a third reviewer; synthesis via qualitative and quantitative approaches, including potential meta-analysis.
Main Results:
- This section is to be populated upon completion of the review.
Conclusions:
- This section is to be populated upon completion of the review.
Introduction:
Improving neonatal health-including growth, weight gain, neurodevelopment and parent-infant bonding-relies heavily on active parental involvement in neonatal care. Family-centred care models emphasise parental participation, which has been associated with improved physiological stability in infants, reduced parental stress and enhanced emotional bonding. This systematic review aims to synthesise existing evidence on the benefits of parental involvement in neonatal care, highlight best practices and identify gaps requiring further research. A rigorous methodology has been outlined to ensure the reliability and transparency of the review process.
Methods And Analysis:
A comprehensive search strategy will be implemented across major databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science, supplemented by manual searches. The review will include randomised controlled trials published between 2000 and January 2025. Studies will be screened according to predefined inclusion criteria, and outcomes of interest will include neonatal growth, weight gain, neurodevelopmental outcomes and parent-infant bonding. Two independent reviewers will perform study selection, data extraction and risk-of-bias assessment, with discrepancies resolved by a third reviewer. Data from included studies will be synthesised using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. If studies are sufficiently homogeneous in design, interventions and outcomes, a meta-analysis will be conducted using appropriate effect measures (eg, mean difference or standardised mean difference for continuous outcomes, and risk ratios for dichotomous outcomes).
Ethics And Dissemination:
As no primary data will be collected, ethical approval is not required. The findings will be presented at relevant conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Prospero Registration Number:
CRD420251000485.
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