# Psychological and Spiritual Support for Parents of a Premature Baby in the Intensive Care Unit: Scoping Review

## TL;DR

This review explores the psychological and spiritual support needs of parents of premature babies in intensive care units.

## Contribution

The study identifies and categorizes the psychological and spiritual needs of parents of preterm babies in intensive care units.

## Key findings

- Psychological and spiritual support has been implemented in clinical practice for parents of preterm babies.
- Spiritual support for parents is frequently underrecognized and insufficiently addressed.
- The study identified 17 sources of evidence from which key categories of needs were derived.

## Abstract

Background: Psychological and spiritual support is crucial, especially in challenging life situations, trials, and when facing the unimaginable distress experienced by parents of premature babies in the intensive care unit. This scoping review aims to identify the psychological and spiritual support needed by parents of premature babies in intensive care units. Methods: The databases PubMed, CINAHL Ultimate and Web of Science were searched in April 2025. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines were followed. The extraction table was used to extract significant information from each source of evidence. Descriptive data analysis was used to present results. Results: The search identified 1353 hits, and 17 sources of evidence were included in the review. The results indicate that psychological and spiritual support has been implemented in clinical practice. The main category Psychological and spiritual needs of parents of preterm babies in intensive care was designed using subcategories: psychological needs of parents of preterm babies in intensive care, and spiritual needs of parents of preterm babies in intensive care. Conclusions: In the context of continuous and holistic healthcare for preterm babies in intensive care units, psychological and spiritual support represent essential and interrelated components. Spiritual support for parents is frequently underrecognized and insufficiently addressed.