26th May 2026
The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) is pleased to announce the publication of its updated Good Practice Point (GPP): Supporting the Emotional Wellbeing of Parents/Carers of Preterm Babies Who Have Experienced the Neonatal Unit. This update equips health visitors and the wider health visiting workforce to provide timely, compassionate, and evidence-based support to families navigating the emotional challenges associated with preterm birth and neonatal care.
iHV GPPs provide busy practitioners with easily accessible and up-to-date information on key public health topics. This revised GPP brings together current evidence and best practice to support health visitors in delivering sensitive, family-centred care, including an overview of:
- The effects of preterm birth and the neonatal unit (NNU) experience on parental mental health
- Feelings and conditions that parents may experience, including anxiety, trauma responses and guilt
- How health visitors and their teams can support parents’ mental health – particularly through relational approaches
- Top tips to support families transitioning to home, helping ensure continuity and partnership working.
The iHV would like to extend special thanks to Dr Caitriona Collins, Clinical Psychologist at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, for updating this GPP. Her expertise and contribution have been invaluable in ensuring the guidance reflects current evidence and best practice.
We also thank the members of the iHV Health Visiting Advisory Forum (HVAF) for their insights and support through the review process.
If you would like to know more about this topic and how to support families who have had babies on the NNU, then please contact [email protected] to enquire about booking onto our Neonatal Families Ambassadors training.
Please note that GPPs are available to iHV members only.
The iHV is a self-funding charity – we can only be successful in our mission to strengthen health visiting practice if the health visiting profession and its supporters join us on our journey. We rely on our membership to develop new resources for our members.
If you’re not a member, please join us to get access to all of our resources.
