Purpose To identify the degree of perceived social support in mothers of hospitalized children in neonatal intensive care unit, and to assess in psychosocial aspects the relationship of the perceived social support with such variables as depression and anxiety level.

Method A total of 50 mothers who have hospitalized infants in NICU, included in this study and the social support they perceived, and the their anxiety and depression levels were analyzed using “Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support Scale” and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD scale), respectively.

Results Perceptions of total social support and the social support provided by friends in the mothers increased as the infants’ birth weight decreased; the levels of total perceived social support and the perceived social support from families and spouses in the mothers getting pregnant with assisted conception techniques (ACT) were greater, compared with the mothers of spontaneous conception. The scores of total perceived social support and the perceived social support from families and spouses in depressed mothers were found to be lower than those in otherwise healthy mothers.

Conclusion It was concluded in our study that the mothers of the hospitalized infants in the neonatal intensive care unit required social support provided especially by the spouses and the families, disclosing the relationship of inadequate perception of such supports with development of depression.