Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Public Health 2251-6085 53 8 2024 08 06 1777 1784 EN Serap Kaynak Department of Nursing, Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Balıkesir University, Balıkesir, Turkey Hatice Bal Yılmaz Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Ege University, İzmir, Turkey Atika Çağlar Balıkesir Atatürk City Hospital, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Balıkesir, Turkey Mine Özdil Balıkesir Atatürk City Hospital, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Balıkesir, Turkey 2023 09 09 2023 12 27 Background: Maternal postpartum depression negatively affects the baby's emotional, behavioral, and cognitive development and attachment pattern. We aimed to examine the effect of virtual patient visits    in neonatal intensive care unit on postpartum depression in mothers. Methods: Research data were obtained from mothers whose preterm infants were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit between April and December 2022. A total of 100 mothers of preterm infants (50 in the virtual patient visit and 50 in the control group) treated in the neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital constituted the sample of the study. Using the Zoom application, virtual patient visits were made for 5 minutes, seven days a week, between mother and the preterm infants, with no nursing intervention implemented for at least 30 minutes. Mothers in the control group saw their babies face to face two days a week. In standard hospital procedure, mothers saw their babies twice a week. Edinburgh postpartum depression scale (EPDS) was administered online to the all mothers before and after the study. Results:The research resulted with statistically significant decreased EPDS scores of the mothers in virtual patient visit group with the pre-study scores. A statistically significant decrease was found compared to the control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: Virtual patient visits between preterm infants in neonatal intensive care unit and their mothers could be effective in preventing or reducing postpartum depression of the mother. https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/33185 https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/download/33185/8312