Parental Anxiety

The study's objective is to conduct a Phase II randomized controlled trial examining the preliminary efficacy of the VoiceLove app compared to usual care on maternal postpartum depression in mothers with infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Primary aim: Assess the effects of VoiceLove on maternal postpartum depression, measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The estimates from this study will be used for a future definitive Phase III trial. Secondary aim: Assess feasibility, acceptability, and patterns of communication and engagement among mothers, partners, and NICU clinicians during the NICU hospitalization, measured through app usage metrics, satisfaction surveys, and qualitative interviews. Additionally, we will evaluate effects of infant length of stay.

Newborn hearing screening (NHS) is a standard procedure that often triggers acute anxiety in parents. While Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) has demonstrated efficacy in reducing psychological distress across various clinical settings, its specific application to parental anxiety during the neonatal screening period remains under-researched. This study addresses this gap by investigating the impact of a targeted EFT intervention on anxiety levels in mothers awaiting their newborns' first hearing tests. The primary objective is to determine if a brief, 15-minute EFT session reduces maternal anxiety more effectively than a standard waiting period. Participants are randomly assigned to either an intervention group, where they perform a structured acupoint tapping sequence, or a control group that receives no active intervention. Anxiety is assessed using validated scales immediately before and after the 15-minute period to capture acute changes in distress. The researchers hypothesize that applying EFT regarding the procedure will significantly reduce parental anxiety levels compared to the non-intervention group.