Relational Savoring increases closeness and satisfaction in 240 post-NICU parents

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Family process Published June 1, 2026 Medically reviewed June 1, 2026 Study authors: Lord Kaitlin M, Boyce HaLi, Fortier Michelle A, Szepsenwol Ohad, Zamir Osnat, Tan Patricia, Hajal Na… PubMed ↗ DOI ↗ By Dr. Sofia Müller, MD · Lifespan & Whole-Person Care

Key Takeaway

Consider Relational Savoring to support parent-child relationships and well-being in post-NICU families.

This randomized controlled trial enrolled 240 post-NICU parents in the United States. Participants were assigned to either a Relational Savoring intervention or a neutral control task. The study setting was the United States. Follow-up duration was not reported.

The primary outcomes measured feelings of closeness to their child, parenting satisfaction, and parental emotional well-being. The intervention group demonstrated significantly greater increases in these metrics relative to the control group. Specific effect sizes, absolute numbers, and p-values were not reported for these outcomes.

A secondary outcome assessed reduction in negative affect. This reduction was more pronounced for parents with a history of miscarriage, stillbirth, child loss, and/or fertility difficulties. No absolute numbers or p-values were provided for this finding.

Safety and tolerability data were not reported. Adverse events, serious adverse events, discontinuations, and general tolerability were not reported. The study did not report funding or conflicts of interest. Relational Savoring may represent a scalable intervention to support parent-child relationships and parental well-being in the post-NICU period, particularly for parents with prior perinatal loss and stress.

Study Details

Study typeRct

EvidenceLevel 2

PublishedJun 2026

PMID42141797

View Original Abstract ↓

Despite abundant evidence that the admission of an infant to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a highly stressful and potentially traumatic experience for both infants and parents, few psychosocial interventions target the needs of parents of NICU infants. In particular, interventions supporting parents beyond the initial medical crisis are notably lacking. Relational savoring (RS) is a brief, positive psychology intervention that attunes one's focus to moments of positive connectedness within their relationships, including parent-child relationships. While the benefits of RS for parent-child dyads are well documented, its efficacy has not been evaluated in parent-child dyads facing significant relational stressors, such as those experienced in post-NICU contexts. Using a randomized controlled design, this study tests the effects of RS compared to a neutral control in 240 post-NICU parents in the United States. Parents reported on their closeness to their child, parental emotional well-being, and parental satisfaction before and after the intervention, as well as their history of perinatal loss and stress. Results of multilevel models suggest that, relative to a neutral control task, parents assigned to the RS intervention group exhibited significantly greater increases in feelings of closeness to their child, parenting satisfaction, and parental emotional well-being. Interestingly, the reduction in negative affect pre- to post-intervention was more pronounced for parents with a history of miscarriage, stillbirth, child loss, and/or fertility difficulties. These findings suggest that RS may represent a scalable intervention to support parent-child relationships and parental well-being in the post-NICU period, particularly for parents with prior perinatal loss and stress.