Improving neonatal health—including growth, weight gain, neurodevelopment and parent–infant bonding—relies heavily on active parental involvement in neonatal care. Family-centred care models emphasise parental participation, which has been associated with improved physiological stability in infants, reduced parental stress and enhanced emotional bonding. This systematic review aims to synthesise existing evidence on the benefits of parental involvement in neonatal care, highlight best practices and identify gaps requiring further research. A rigorous methodology has been outlined to ensure the reliability and transparency of the review process.

A comprehensive search strategy will be implemented across major databases, including PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science, supplemented by manual searches. The review will include randomised controlled trials published between 2000 and January 2025. Studies will be screened according to predefined inclusion criteria, and outcomes of interest will include neonatal growth, weight gain, neurodevelopmental outcomes and parent–infant bonding. Two independent reviewers will perform study selection, data extraction and risk-of-bias assessment, with discrepancies resolved by a third reviewer. Data from included studies will be synthesised using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. If studies are sufficiently homogeneous in design, interventions and outcomes, a meta-analysis will be conducted using appropriate effect measures (eg, mean difference or standardised mean difference for continuous outcomes, and risk ratios for dichotomous outcomes).

As no primary data will be collected, ethical approval is not required. The findings will be presented at relevant conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal.

CRD420251000485.