Around one in every seven babies born in the UK is admitted for specialist care on neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) annually.1 Parents of children admitted to the NICU enter an intense, highly stressful clinical environment, often without warning, with as many as 40% of parents on the NICU reporting anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress.2 3 Specifically, the perceived loss of the traditional ‘parental’ role in early infancy is frequently cited as a primary concern.4 5 To mitigate this, many family-centred strategies are employed to enable parents to remain involved with their child’s daily care, including feeding, bathing and facilitating physical proximity.6–8
This collaboration between medical staff and parents extends to clinical decision-making.9 While parents differ widely in their preference for involvement, parental shared decision-making (SDM) on the NICU is considered good practice,…