Interventional Strategies to Mitigate Maternal Stress and Enhance Coping Skills During Neonatal Admission Into Intensive Care Units in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.

This is a scoping review, so it maps interventions rather than estimating one overall effect for clinicians. Interventions varied in content, duration, timing and delivery, so the review cannot say which single strategy is best. The studies were English-language and from urban tertiary hospitals in low- and middle-income countries, so they may not apply to all settings. Mothers with pre-existing mental health conditions or substance use disorders were excluded, so the review says little about those groups. Some included studies were non-randomised, and the review summarised findings narratively, so the strength of evidence for each intervention is not clear. One included study found no significant difference between narrative writing and art therapy, and another found no significant difference in mean maternal stress after 10 days of education.

Do not conclude that any one intervention is proven best for maternal NICU stress. This scoping review found many different interventions reduced stress, but the studies varied widely and did not directly compare all approaches.