A Review of Siblings' Needs and Interventions Supporting Their Adaptation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Many aspects may interfere with siblings' adaptation when an infant is born prematurely and hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). During this critical period, siblings may have sudden change of behaviors if their needs are not adequately met. Parents and neonatal nurses are often unaware of the importance of supporting siblings in the NICU. In this narrative review, siblings' needs and interventions to support them in the NICU will be synthesized and discussed. A total of 14 articles were reviewed to better understand siblings' needs and discuss findings related to interventions supporting siblings' adaptation in the NICU. Further studies should be conducted with validated and reliable evaluation tools to validate these findings. Overall, interventions for siblings in the NICU appear to be beneficial for siblings and their parents.