Neonatal Family Support Research

Each year, hundreds of newborn babies require specialist care, which cannot be given by the hospital they are born in. Babies may be born prematurely, have difficulty breathing, or need emergency surgery; requiring treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton is home to the NICU for the central southern counties. Babies can be transferred hundreds of miles from their place of their birth to receive life-saving care which isn’t available anywhere else in the region.

This can be traumatic and stressful for mothers and families, as they can be separated from their baby within hours of their birth.

The project will set out:

  • To better understand parents’ experiences within NICU.
  • To find ways of relieving the burden faced by parents.
  • Lead to the development of resources, support, and interventions to help parents at this incredibly challenging time.

With your support we can better understand the needs of these parents, both during the transfer of their child to a NICU and in the first few hours of being in the department.