Inside the NICU: How psychologists help families build resilience from day one
Inside the NICU, the steady hum of machines fill the air. Tiny babies rest in warm isolettes, surrounded by tubes and wires. Their parents hover nearby, wanting to comfort them but unsure how. For families like these, the first days of life are filled with both wonder and worry; and for psychologist Dr. Maria Kroupina, PhD, LP, they’re also a crucial window to build connection.
As director of the Birth to Three Program at the M Health Fairview Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB), Dr. Kroupina is helping change the way hospitals support families from the very beginning. Her team partners with providers to strengthen the emotional developmental health of babies who need intensive medical care.
“Infants in the NICU and PICU experience stress before they even have a voice,” Kroupina said. “But just because they’re little doesn’t mean they don’t feel the world around them.”
Supporting parents through the stress of medical care
A child’s first relationships help shape how their brain grows and how they learn to regulate emotions. When babies are separated from their parents or undergo frequent medical procedures, those relationships can be disrupted.
That’s where Dr. Kroupina’s team steps in. They meet parents at the bedside, offering coaching and early interventions that help families feel confident caring for their child.
The goal, Kroupina said, is simple but powerful: “When parents feel confident and connected, and their child feels supported—even in a hospital setting—it can protect their mental health for life,” she said.
Her team teaches parents techniques to comfort their child during procedures, manage their own stress and recognize how small gestures – a hand resting gently on a baby’s leg, a soothing voice – can make a difference.
From risk to resilience
Long hospital stays, time away from caregivers and early medical stress can affect how a child’s brain develops. But research shows that early support can help the brain adapt in healthy ways.
“We can’t change that a child needs surgery or medication,” Kroupina said. “But we can change how that experience is supported."
Her approach builds on decades research from the University of Minnesota where scientists have shown that strong relationships can buffer the early effects of stress.
Expanding access for families
Today, Kroupina’s team focuses on infants in intensive care units, children recovering from cardiac surgeries, and those in foster care. But they hope to expand.
“We want to be there from the start,” she said. “When parents are just learning how to hold or comfort their child. That’s when we can make the biggest difference.”
Working with colleagues like Jessica Simacek, Ph. D, at the TeleOutreach Center, and across MIDB brain researchers, Kroupina is developing new models to reach families where they are. The program is one of only a few in the nation with a focus on turning early medical adversity into long-term resilience.
Giving babies a voice
For Dr. Kroupina, this work is deeply personal and profoundly hopeful.
“There are so many things in these children’s lives that we can’t change,” she said. “But we can be the voice for them. We can give parents tools to turn a moment of risk into a moment of connection. That’s how resilience begins.”
