Volume 30, Issue 176, October 2026

In-person versus virtual neonatal intensive care unit visitation: A family perspective

Kadi Abdulrahman Alhumaidi^♦, Salman Ghanem Alghanim, Abdulrahman Obaid Alharbi

Maternity and Children's Hospital, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Kadi Abdulrahman Alhumaidi, Department of Pediatrics, Maternity and Children's Hospital Buraydah, Qassim 51411, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Parents whose infants are admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) express feeling stressed and anxious. The purpose of this study was to assess parents’ satisfaction with virtual versus in-person NICU visits, as well as their preferences, perceived barriers, visitation costs, and breastfeeding support and practices. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among the parents of infants who were admitted to the NICU at Maternity and Children Hospital in Buraydah from August 2025 to July 2026. The parents who visited the hospital in person completed a structured questionnaire, whereas those who attended virtually were interviewed either in a virtual clinic or by telephone. Results: About 71.7% of the participants attended the visits in person, while 9.4% attended them virtually and 18.9% attended both in person and virtually. When it came to discussing the baby's condition, 83.0% of the participants preferred face-to-face communication. There was no significant difference in satisfaction according to the mode of attendance (ANOVA, p = 0.168), even though those who attended virtually gave slightly higher satisfaction scores. The main reason for attending regularly was to follow the infant’s health and to stay updated (75.3%), followed by breastfeeding or giving breast milk (24.7%). The major obstacles were work commitments (46.5%), childcare (31.3%), and distance from the hospital (27.3%). The most common difficulties that mothers experienced with breastfeeding were an insufficient milk supply (48%) and the baby's medical condition (22%). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates a strong preference for parents to be physically present at the bedside, but also the value of virtual access when in-person visits are challenging.

Keywords: Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), parental satisfaction, virtual visitation, telemedicine

Medical Science, 2026, 30, e205ms3979

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Published: 30 October 2026