Parent Support

As a part of Stanford Medicine Children's Health's commitment to family-centered care, a number of support services are available to families of neonatology and hospitalized antepartum patients.

Parent Mentors

Antepartum and neonatology parent mentors have experience with hospitalization during pregnancy, premature births, multiple births, and/or neonatal illness. They are trained to provide peer support to expectant mothers or parents of current infant inpatients.

Please contact your social worker if you would like to meet with a parent mentor.

Antepartum Care

Our Antepartum Care parent mentors provide weekly mentoring sessions to women hospitalized before the birth of their child(ren). They have experience as antepartum patients during their own pregnancies.

Parent mentors visit expectant mothers at the bedside and provide support, validation and information about the antepartum experience. Mentoring sessions vary in length and can be one-time visits or regular meetings during a woman’s hospital stay.

"Meeting with a parent mentor allowed me to hear a ‘success story’ firsthand. When you have problems with your pregnancy, especially early on, you need hope to get you through it. Hearing about someone else's success gave me hope that I could get through months of bedrest too." - Dalia Stoddard, Parent

"During my two-month antepartum stay, I spoke with several moms who had been hospitalized during their pregnancies. It was very reassuring and helpful to hear from women who had similar experiences. I decided to become an antepartum mentor so that I could provide the same kind of support and encouragement to other women facing challenges during their pregnancies." - Nicole Kangas, Parent Mentor

Sequoia Special Care Nursery

Our Special Care Nursery at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City also offers weekly parent mentor visits. The parent mentor provides support and information to interested families, particularly about the transition from hospital to home.

Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Level II Intermediate Care Nursery

Parent mentors work weekly, visiting families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Intermediate Care Nursery, and speaking with parents by telephone.

A bilingual parent mentor is available for Spanish-speaking families. A discharge mentor is referred to families as they prepare to go home.

Learn more about Stanford Medicine Children's Health's parent mentor program.

Weekly Parent Gatherings

Parents with infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or the Intermediate Care Nursery are invited to attend Parent Hours. These are weekly gatherings of parents who wish to learn more about their child’s hospitalization.

Some of the discussion topics include:

  • Bringing your baby home
  • Car seat safety
  • Your baby’s nutrition
  • Bonding with your baby in the hospital
  • Reading your baby’s cues
  • Infant massage
  • Navigating the NICU/IICN
  • Knitting
  • Scrapbooking

Please contact your social worker for the schedule of Parent Hours. An informal dinner is provided each month.