Mothers of preterm infants in the NICU setting praise the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) for the education and support it provides.

Maternal efforts at interacting with and caring for their infants were tentative until nurses repeatedly told them it was ok.

Mothers complained that nurses did not consistently follow the individualized NIDCAP plan developed by the NIDCAP team from systematic infant behavioral observations.