Background:The expectation of a woman during pregnancy is to have a healthy live bay with no complications. Admission of a newborn baby to the newborn unit is distressing to the parents, more so in cases where there is little or no support from the health care team and other players.Objective: To establish factors contributing to emotional distress among postpartum mothers with newborns at newborn unit Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya.Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study employing a quantitative method by use of an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The study was conducted among 59 postpartum mothers with newborns at the Newborn Unit Kenyatta National Hospital. Simple random sampling technique was employed and data collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for The Social SPSS version 25 software. Qualitative data was coded, categorized into themes and thematic analysis done. Results:The factors contributing to maternal emotional distress were low levels of education primary 14(23.7%) and secondary 23(39.0%) and unemployment 27(45.8%). In addition, lengthy NBU stays 34(57.6%), ineffective communication patterns 18(30.5%) and null communication 9(15.3%) between mothers and the healthcare givers contributed to emotional distress. Conclusion:There are sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and hospital factors contributing to maternal emotional distress.