Maternal feelings in the visit to the newborn admitted in intensive care unit

Abstract

When a newborn infant needs special care, the first contact between mother and child frequently happens in the visit to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Considering this contact as of utmost importance for the development of the mother-child bonding, the present research was carried out with the objective of identifying mother expressed feelings in the first visit to the newborn infant admitted in the ICU. In order to achieve this objective, the data collecting technique used was a semi-structured interview with mothers during their first visit to their newborns in the ICU. The data analysis was guided by the technique of content analysis in which four categories were identified: 1) Expressed feelings; 2) Imaginary situations; 3) Health team support; 4) Expectations regarding the newborn health. It was found that the most frequent expressed feelings were fear, guilt, anger, sadness, and frustration and that the nursing assistance to mothers, which can be guided by protocols and specific health team training, is necessary to secure quality service and to contribute positively for the establishment of the mother-child bonding.