Stefana, A., & Lavelli, M. (2017). Parental engagement and early interactions with preterm infants during the stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Protocol of a mixed-method and longitudinal study. BMJ Open, 7:e013824. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013824
Abstract. The preterm infants’ developmental outcomes depend on biological and environmental risk factors. The environmental factors include prolonged parental separation, less exposure to early mother/father–infant interactions and the parents’ ability to respond to the trauma of premature birth. In the case of premature birth, the father’s ability to take an active part in the care of the infant from the start is essential. The parents’ emotional closeness to the preterm infant hospitalised in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) may be crucial to the well-being of the newborn, the development of mutual regulation, the establishment of a functioning parent–infant affective relationship and the parents’ confidence in their ability to provide