TOPLINE

Parents of extremely premature infants experienced sustained anxiety up to 2 years after NICU discharge, with nearly 1 in 4 mothers and approximately 1 in 6 fathers reporting clinically significant symptoms by 6 months of age.

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers conducted a study involving 315 infants (56% boys) born before 30 weeks of gestation and/or weighing less than 1000 g at birth between 2015 and 2024 in Netherlands to determine the prevalence of parental anxiety up to 2 years after discharge from the NICU.
• Infants had a mean gestational age of 27.8 weeks and a mean birth weight of 1056 g.
• Nearly 300 mothers (mean maternal age, 30 years) and 234 fathers were asked to complete a survey at 6, 12, and 24 months of corrected age to assess their anxiety symptoms, defined as having a subscale score ≥ 40 points.
• Clinical data were included, including multiple birth status, co-twin mortality, and major morbidities such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia and necrotizing enterocolitis.

TAKEAWAY

• At 6 months of corrected age, 25.3% of mothers and 16.9% of fathers reported clinically significant state anxiety (P = .03).
• The prevalence of maternal anxiety declined to 22.2% at 12 months and 20.0% at 24 months, whereas paternal anxiety remained stable at 15.0% and 17.6%, respectively.
• Multilevel modeling showed that mothers’ mean state anxiety scores decreased from 35.07 at 6 months to 33.45 at 12 months (estimate, -1.62; P = .02) and to 32.72 at 24 months. The overall decline between 6 and 24 months was significant among mothers (P = .001), whereas fathers showed no significant changes over time.
• No consistent associations were found between parental anxiety and perinatal or NICU-related factors.

IN PRACTICE

“[The study] findings emphasize the importance of psychosocial determinants in shaping parental emotional outcomes and highlight the need for ongoing mental health support for both parents well beyond the immediate postdischarge period,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE

The study was led by Lois C. Span, MD, Beatrix Children’s Hospital, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands. It was published online on July 14, 2026, in Pediatrics.

LIMITATIONS

Parents’ mental health was not checked during their infants’ stay in the NICU or right after discharge. Important factors such as education, socioeconomic status, social support, and race or ethnicity were not recorded. Completion of follow-up decreased over 2 years and was consistently lower among fathers.

DISCLOSURES

One author was supported by a grant from the Junior Scientific Masterclass of the University of Groningen. The other authors reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.