Effects of Webcam Access to Preterm Infants in NICUs on Parental Psychological Strain

Aim: To investigate whether webcam access for parents of infants in neonatal intensive care units influences parental postpartum depression and stress experiences.

Methods: Parents whose infants had a birth weight below 1500 g and who were admitted to one of the four participating tertiary care hospitals were eligible to participate in the study. The study followed the structure of a multi-centre cross-over pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Depending on their assigned study group, participants gained access to a webcam either in Weeks 1-4 of the observation period and abstained from webcam use in Weeks 5-8 (First-Half Access Group) or vice versa (Second-Half Access Group). Outcomes were measured at four time points utilising the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Effects were estimated using linear mixed-effects regression modelling.

Results: Data from 229 mothers and 211 fathers/partners were analysed; neither group's webcam access had a significant effect on the level of symptoms related to postpartum depression or stress experienced.

Conclusion: Based on the present results, webcam access has neither negative nor positive effects on parental psychological strain. Further research is needed to understand how individual preferences and physical presence influence the impact of webcams.