Can a doula in the NICU ease Parents' trauma?
NCT ID NCT06521398
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether providing doula support and care coordination to parents of preterm babies in the NICU can reduce stress, depression, and anxiety. Twenty English-speaking mothers of babies born before 34 weeks are being recruited. The doula helps connect families to mental health and medical services, and continues support after the baby leaves the hospital.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Doula support and care coordination
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple, low-cost way to improve mental health for parents of preterm babies in the NICU.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small early trial with only 20 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The intervention is supportive, not medical, so it may not reduce severe mental health conditions.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Sep 2024
- Expected to finish
-
Aug 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
16 years and older
- Sex
-
Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * HUP postpartum patients who are at least 16 years old at the time their newborns' birth * Infant born at HUP * Preterm birth \<34 weeks * English language speaking Exclusion Criteria: * Unable to read or sign informed consent * Parents of infants transferred into HUP NICU * If the medical team believes that the infant may not live or be transferred to another hospital in upcoming weeks * HUP postpartum patients who are less than 16 years of age at the time of their newborns' birth
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Postpartum anxiety are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
RECRUITINGPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can an asthma inhaler drug open narrowed airways in preterm kids?
- Zapping the spine while wearing a robotic ankle: a new way to help kids walk?
- Why do some preterm babies need breathing machines longer?
- Can a Preemie's NICU breathing pattern predict asthma and sleep problems years later?
- Why do some preterm babies fail to grow? researchers track clues in the NICU
- Scientists test whether calmer mothers make better milk