A Nurse-Based Model of Psychosocial Support for Emotionally Distressed Mothers of Infants in the NICU

Abstract

Mothers whose infants are hospitalized in the NICU are frequently emotionally distressed, particularly early in the hospitalization. The Family-Centered Developmental Care philosophy, widely adopted by NICUs, calls for an expanded focus on the well-being of the entire family. In this article, we describe an innovative, nurse-delivered program for emotionally distressed mothers of infants in the NICU that includes screening and an empirically supported counseling approach: Listening Visits.