Footnotes

• Collaborators The Guidance Development Group consisted of the following members: Alex Mancini, Neonatal Matron; Christina Beardsley, Head of Multi-Faith Chaplaincy; Daniel Wood, Clinical Psychologist; Sabita Uthaya, Consultant Neonatologist; Neena Modi, Professor of Neonatal Medicine; Ria Lane, Project Manager; Rita Ranmal, Clinical Standards Co-ordinator, RCPCH.

• Contributors SU led the systematic review, wrote the first and final draft of the paper and was a member of the Guidance Development Group. AM contributed to summarising the evidence and formulating recommendations, was part of the Guidance Development Group and reviewed the first and final draft of the paper. DW and CB contributed to writing the paper and were part of the Guidance Development Group. RR contributed to the development of the Guidance by reviewing the systematic review methodology and contributing to the development of the Guidance. NM contributed to the writing of the paper, reviewed the first and final draft and was a member of the Guidance Development Group.

• Funding The work was funded by the Department of Health, UK.

• Competing interests None.

• Provenance and peer review Commissioned; externally peer reviewed.