NICU: Interventions for Parental Stress

Course overview

This course provides nurses and social workers with the knowledge and skills to support parents of medically fragile infants in the NICU. Participants will explore the unique challenges these parents face, such as stress, trauma, and impaired bonding, and learn evidence-based interventions to promote family-centered care. Learners will examine critical topics including parental stressors, attachment theory, and implicit bias in NICU care. The course emphasizes practical strategies like fostering open communication, encouraging skin-to-skin contact, and empowering parents to take an active role in their infant's care. By understanding the psychosocial needs of NICU families, participants will gain tools to improve parental well-being, enhance parent-infant bonding, and contribute to better neonatal outcomes.