The admission of a baby to neonatal intensive care has long been recognised as an event that can substantially impact on parents.¹ The questions addressed in this paper concern the extent to which the reactions differ from that of parents whose newborns are not admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and the impact on fathers as well as mothers.

Conventional models of becoming a parent contrast markedly with the NICU experience. With the latter, parental responses may be considered part of normal adjustment and transitory in nature, although if their infant is very sick and subsequently disabled, they may be part of a longer life changing process.^2,3 The study aimed to understand the nature of the impact of NICU on the wellbeing of both parents and to consider possible implications for practice and care. The objective could have been achieved in a number of ways and with different time frames. In this study the choice was made to …