When parents gently touch, talk to, and look at their premature babies during feeding for six months, it helps both moms and dads feel much less anxious and stressed out.

Dads who spend time touching, talking to, and looking at their premature babies during feeding feel much less anxious after six months than dads who don’t.

Even though parents felt less anxious after doing sensory activities with their preemie, they didn’t feel significantly more connected to their baby or more confident as parents after six months.

Parents who do gentle sensory activities like touching and talking to their preemie during feeding for six months are much less likely to feel depressed after leaving the hospital.

When parents use touch, voice, eye contact, smell, and feeding to connect with their preemie at home for six months, their anxiety and depression stay lower for the whole six months.

Even if parents don’t do the sensory activities perfectly every day, just doing them during feeding a few times a day still helps them feel less stressed and depressed.