Assessing Stress Levels among Parents of Children Admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The admission of a neonate to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a sudden and emotionally overwhelming experience for parents, exposing them to an unfamiliar clinical environment, uncertainty about their child's survival, and disruption of expected parenting roles. Although parental psychological wellbeing in the NICU has received growing international attention, evidence from low- and middle-income countries, including Pakistan, remains limited, and comparative data on maternal versus paternal stress are scarce.

Objective: To assess the level of stress experienced by parents of children admitted to the NICU and to identify the demographic and hospital-related factors associated with parental stress.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 parents of neonates admitted to the NICU, recruited through non-probability convenience sampling over a three-month period. Data were collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire covering demographic characteristics and a parental stress and hospital-experience component, following written informed consent. Data were entered and analysed in SPSS using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages) and inferential statistics (correlation and regression analysis).

Results: Most respondents were mothers (88.0%) aged 26–35 years (38.7%), with matric-level education (42.7%) and a monthly household income of PKR 41,000–50,000 (39.3%). Nearly all parents reported that having a child in the NICU was a stressful experience. While 74.0% of parents were satisfied with staff behaviour and 90.0% were permitted to see their child at least once daily, 33.3% felt inadequately informed by physicians about changes in their child's condition and 39.3% reported that the hospital did not provide all required medicines.

Conclusion: Parental stress in the NICU is nearly universal and is shaped by communication gaps, resource constraints, and socio-demographic disadvantage; parents with higher education and income appeared comparatively better placed to cope. Family-centred care strategies — including structured clinician–parent communication, psychosocial support, and improved medicine and waiting-area provision — are recommended to reduce parental stress in this setting.