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Current Evidence and Considerations for Psychological Support Interventions for Fathers in the Neonatal Intensive

Alyssa R Morris1,2, Anahit Sarin-Gulian1, Catherine Mogil1

  • 1David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
|February 27, 2026
PubMed

There is a lack of focus on psychological support for fathers in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), both in research and practice, with fathers receiving far less support from NICU providers as compared with mothers. This article aims to discuss the current literature and limitations related to providing psychological support to fathers in the NICU and proposes short- and long-term efforts for improving psychological care for NICU fathers. We conducted a narrative literature review to summarize interventions for supporting fathers in the NICU, including emotional support, educational support, social support, family-integrated care, and multi-component interventions. While initial work is promising, there are major limitations. Very few studies have examined interventions specific to providing support to fathers in the NICU, and little work has investigated differences in the support needs and responses to interventions for NICU fathers as compared with mothers. Fathers have historically been overlooked in the NICU. Given the growing recognition of paternal mental health challenges and their impact on infant development, there is a pressing need for efforts aimed at supporting fathers in the NICU. Efforts must consider system structure, policy, multidisciplinary training, and implementation protocols to improve the quality of care provided to NICU fathers.

Keywords:
caregiversfathersintegrated delivery of health caremental healthneonatal intensive care unitsnewborn infantpaternitypolicypsychological stresspsychosocial intervention

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