Marie A, François-Garret B, Filippi A, Eleni Dit Trolli S, Casagrande F, Lotte JB, Guellec I, Fernandez A. Factors influencing parental presence in neonatal units: A systematic review. World J Clin Pediatr 2025; 14(4): 107552 [DOI: 10.5409/wjcp.v14.i4.107552]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Arnaud Fernandez, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, CHU-Lenval, CobTeK Lab, Université Côte d’Azur, 57 Avenue de la Californie, Nice 06200, France. fernandez.arnaud.med@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Pediatrics
Article-Type of This Article
Systematic Reviews
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Dec 9, 2025 (publication date) through Oct 31, 2025
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Journal Information of This Article
Publication Name
World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics
ISSN
2219-2808
Publisher of This Article
Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Marie A, François-Garret B, Filippi A, Eleni Dit Trolli S, Casagrande F, Lotte JB, Guellec I, Fernandez A. Factors influencing parental presence in neonatal units: A systematic review. World J Clin Pediatr 2025; 14(4): 107552 [DOI: 10.5409/wjcp.v14.i4.107552]
Anais Marie, Bérengère François-Garret, Ambre Filippi, Sergio Eleni Dit Trolli, Florence Casagrande, Jean-Baptiste Lotte, Isabelle Guellec, Department of Neonatology, University Hospital of Nice-Côte d’Azur, Nice 06200, France
Arnaud Fernandez, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, CHU-Lenval, CobTeK Lab, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice 06200, France
Author contributions: Fernandez A and François-Garret B designed the research; Marie A and François-Garret B performed the research; Marie A wrote the first draft of the paper; Guellec I, Francois-Garret B, Casagrande F, Eleni Dit Trolli S, Lotte JB, and Filippi A reviewed the paper; Guellec I, François-Garret B, Fernandez A, and Marie A edited the paper; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Arnaud Fernandez, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, CHU-Lenval, CobTeK Lab, Université Côte d’Azur, 57 Avenue de la Californie, Nice 06200, France. fernandez.arnaud.med@gmail.com
Received: March 26, 2025 Revised: May 2, 2025 Accepted: July 17, 2025 Published online: December 9, 2025 Processing time: 219 Days and 17.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Parental presence in neonatal units (NUs) is essential for infant development and family well-being. A deeper understanding of the factors influencing parental presence is vital and will contribute to the development of targeted interventions and policies that enhance parental engagement in neonatal care, thereby improving outcomes for infants and their families.
AIM
To identify and analyze primary factors influencing parental involvement in their child’s care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
METHODS
A literature search was conducted using the PubMed, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library for systematic reviews databases, with the following search terms: “parental presence neonatology”, “couplet care”, “zero separation neonatal care”, “family integrated care”, “couplet care intervention”, “mother-child separation”, “parents newborn togetherness”, “mother-baby care”, “closeness and separation NICU”, “mother-infant interaction NICU”, “kangaroo care”, “dyad mother-infant”, and “newborn integrated care”. The database search for this literature review began on December 10, 2024, with the final search conducted on April 10, 2025.
RESULTS
The literature search yielded 281 articles, out of which 23 were selected for a detailed review. The factors associated with parental presence in NUs were grouped into five main categories: Parents’ socio-demographic and cultural traits; the physical layout and care model of the NUs; the quality of parents’ relationships with the healthcare staff; their active involvement in neonatal care; and the newborn’s health status.
CONCLUSION
The identification of factors that affect parental presence in NUs is critical for developing effective strategies aimed at encouraging increased parental involvement and ultimately improving neonatal and family outcomes.
Core Tip: Parental involvement in neonatal units has a significant beneficial effect on infant development and family health. This review systematically highlights key determinants of parental presence, categorized according to socio-demographic and cultural aspects, unit physical layout, staff relationships, active parental participation, and infant health status. Recognition of these factors is essential for designing tailored interventions and improving policies to ensure optimal neonatal and family outcomes.
