Meeting the emotional and behavioral health needs of bereaved NICU parents

Abstract

Parents who experience the death of a child in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at high risk for adverse behavioral health outcomes. For many parents, their child may have never lived outside of the hospital and the grief and loss this subset of bereaved parents' experience is unique. NICU parents may feel robbed of traditional parenthood and lean on NICU providers for support, creating a dynamic in which the care team plays a key role in shaping the parents' experience of their child's life and death. In this perspective, opportunities to support NICU parents in their bereavement are reviewed alongside recommendations at the individual, institutional, and national level to work toward a gold standard for neonatal bereavement care.