Parent Care Program

Offering mental health support to parents of preemies.

Each year, 30,000 preterm babies are born in Canada, beginning an emotional and challenging journey for parents and their families. These families face immediate medical challenges and long-term emotional struggles, which can linger long after leaving the NICU.

The numbers are staggering:

26% of mothers report anxiety
40% struggle with depression
30% experience posttraumatic stress, including fathers

As time moves on, the initial wave of support often fades, leaving families feeling isolated and in need of long-term care. That’s why CPBF is committed to standing by families every step of the way.

This is why CPBF has created the Parent Care Program.

Parent Care, a program providing professional mental health support, free to eligible families.

"NICU parents often talk about how isolating it is to be in the NICU, and how hard it is to find someone who understands. We designed the Parent Care program to meet the mental health needs of these families, and to help them feel less alone.”

"When we connect with families in our Parent Care program, they share their stories, they explore their feelings, and they begin the process of reclaiming their experience and identities. These sessions can be profoundly transformational and can set families up for a lifetime of more confident parenting.”

“By supporting parents’ emotional well-being, we are actually prioritizing children’s physical and emotional development.”

Support Group for Graduate NICU Families

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Preemie Parent Collective

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Support Group for Graduate NICU Families

Meeting Monday at 10 AM EST for 6 weeks, this group is for parents whose babies have been home for at least 2 months.

Kelley Hassanpour

Registration is open for 2025.

Having a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit can be an extremely isolating experience. This 6-week, closed therapy group will connect you with others with similar lived experiences. You will learn about common experiences during and after a NICU stay, including Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders, Trauma and Grief and develop strategies and tools for coping.

The group is facilitated by Kelley Hassanpour, a Registered Nurse & Psychotherapist with over 15 years’ experience working in the NICU, as well as education in Infant & Early Child Mental Health & Perinatal Mental Health.

The objectives of this group are:

Normalize NICU experiences
Understand what happened in the NICU
Learn to trust yourself and your parenting abilities
Recognize the signs & symptoms of a Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorder
Develop tools to manage fear, anxiety, and depression
Understand the signs and symptoms of trauma and grief and develop coping strategies
Receive peer support from other families who have had similar lived experience

Eligibility Criteria:

Baby must have been discharged from the NICU.
This group is not suitable for bereaved parents (*case by case basis in incidence of a surviving multiple)
This group is open to Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland Residents as per College regulations.

Details:

Group runs Mondays at 10am EST for 1.5 hours online
Runs for 6 weeks

Kelley - @parenting_from_within_

or via email: parentingfromwithin@outlook.com

Preemie Parent Collective

A 6-week virtual support group designed for Canadian residents whose babies have been discharged from the NICU within the last 2 years

Kieran Powers

The Preemie Parent Collective is a one-of-a-kind community for parents of preemies, combining Grief & Trauma Coaching and peer support. Over the 6-Week program you will build a community of people who "get it" and receive support to help you find practical and realistic ways to process your experience and manage your mindset in a way that honours the hard stuff while finding a path forward.

The group is facilitated by Kieran Powers, a fellow preemie parent and a certified Grief & Trauma Coach who supports families navigating premature birth, NICU experiences, pregnancy and infant loss, medical parenting, and fertility journeys.

The Preemie Parent Collective Includes:

1 x 2-hour kick off call
5 x 60 minute group coaching sessions,
1 x 60 minute one-on-one coaching session
Private WhatsApp community for support between sessions

Bio:

Kieran is a certified Grief and Trauma Coach and the proud mom of three sons, including two preemies. Beckett was born at 23 weeks in 2017 and tragically passed away in his parents’ arms after a short but fierce fight. Lincoln was born in 2018 at just 22 weeks and spent four and a half months on the NICU rollercoaster. He is now in Grade 1! Little brother Remy was born full term via surrogacy in 2022.

Welcome to your 6 weeks of healing, Love, support and joy with trauma therapist Leanne Dorish!

Here you will find caring hearts, listening ears and supportive tools so that you do not have to walk this journey alone.

Leanne Dorish

Caring for a NICU graduate is unique. It often requires a new set of skills and it is likely that no one else in your family or friend-group has had this experience.

This closed group is where you can:

• Receive tools and strategies from a trauma therapist

• Connect with others who have also been in a NICU

• Explore how to see the joys along with the struggles

• Learn about trauma and how not to pass it on

• Expand your knowledge about self-care and coping tools

When you transition home from the NICU you can be carrying more than just the baby. Emotions, flashbacks, overwhelm and exhaustion can be part of your world and you deserve to have the magic back.

By learning what transgenerational trauma is and creating a safe space to laugh, cry and share together, you will feel more like the self you know you are inside.

Group details:

When: Wednesdays at 12:00pm Noon PT

Where: Zoom

What’s included: 6 group calls, 1 one-to-one chat before the group begins, worksheets and a digital copy of Leanne’s NICU book

Eligibility:

• Baby has graduated from a NICU or special care nursery within the last 3 years.

• As per Leanne’s clinical regulations, participants can be from the following provinces and territories:

• British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut

Bio:

Leanne is the proud Mama of a 2014 NICU graduate who is now in grade 5! She is a Registered Clinical Counselling (RCC) and an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS). Leanne is an author, speaker and blogger on topics such as NICU mental health, rural mental health, NICU staff care, the Sandwich Generation, and self-care practices. My NICU Family was created out of the trials and tribulations of the transition to home from the NICU after her son, Skye, decided he wanted out 9 weeks early. You can find Leanne, and her guests, on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or on her NICU website at www.mynicufamily.com .

Beyond the NICU*

A supportive space for life after the NICU.

This 6-week peer group program is designed for preemie parents and caregivers who are navigating the emotional, mental, and practical realities of life at home after NICU discharge.

Michelle Ross

Whether you’re a few months or a couple of years into this journey, this space is for you. Together, we’ll unpack the lingering stress, create gentle routines that support your daily life, and help you move from just surviving to feeling grounded and confident.

Led by Michelle Ross—a fellow NICU mom, caregiver, and coach who’s walked this road—this collective offers a compassionate space to process the hard moments, find clarity in the chaos, and connect with others who truly understand.

🌱 Here’s what’s included:

1 x 60-minute Kickoff Group Call to set your foundation
5 x 60-minute Group Coaching Sessions (one each week)
1 x 60-minute 1:1 Coaching Session with Michelle for personalized support
Private TELEGRAM Community Access for connection, encouragement, and coaching between sessions

Bio:

Michelle Ross is a parent coach, NICU mom, and caregiver to a beautiful daughter born at 27 weeks. After spending 127 days in the NICU and navigating life post-discharge, she knows firsthand the emotional rollercoaster, the sleepless nights, and the silent pressure that follows you home.

As a coach, Michelle specializes in supporting preemie parents in the after—that critical phase where the medical team steps back but your worries ramp up. She gently helps parents create routines that feel manageable, build emotional resilience, and reclaim a sense of peace without guilt.

You can register by emailing Michelle info@myelevatedhope.com

IG - @myelevatedhope

You can register by emailing Michelle info@myelevatedhope.com

IG - @myelevatedhope

*Please be advised that this session is not facilitated by a licensed therapist

Connected Clinicians

Meet our group of clinicians from our previous Individual Therapy Program. Each clinician is a perinatal mental health professional, familiar with the challenges faced by parents of premature babies. Though this program is no longer funded by CPBF, you can still connect with these dedicated experts for private therapy sessions to support your journey.