Effect of Visiting Restrictions in the NICU during the Pandemic: A Literature Review

Abstract

Parents of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) experienced a tremendous amount of stress with the changing policies which added to the trauma of having an infant in the NICU. While family-centered and developmental care are the norms in NICU, the ‘visiting’ policy that involved complete lockdown, one parent at a time, restrictions on partners and extended families including grandparents, no kangaroo care, no breastfeeding, etc. affected the women emotionally impacting breast milk production, breastfeeding, and increased incidence of postpartum depression. This literature review examined research on the effect of visiting restrictions on parents in NICUs during the pandemic, globally. Babies born during these challenging times must be followed up for their developmental milestones and social and educational achievement.

Keywords

• neonatal intensive care unit
• nicu
• parents
• visit
• pandemic
• covid-19