O papel de um grupo de entre-ajuda no acompanhamento aos pais numa unidade de cuidados neonatais

Abstract

To be fathers or mothers requires the establishment of a family, an adjustment to the new cycle of life. The parental role emerges with the birth of first child, and it will change as the family grows with new descendants. Premature birth means a sudden change from a warm and safe environment, the womb, to another extremely aggressive and new, the external environment. Many of these newborns start their lives in a Neonatal Unit. The birth of premature children is an event that has become common in recent years. According to World Health Organization (WHO, 2008), each year are born 13 million premature. Being this is an unexpected but at the same time so frequent in recent years, it is necessary to intervene with the families of these children, since they overtake a time of tremendous anxiety, fear, anger and guilt. This intervention should be performed during the hospitalization of the child, in order to be able to better adapt to the new event. With the purpose of understand the importance of implementing a mutual help group for parents of hospitalized children in a Neonatal Care Unit, five interviews were conducted and collected feedback after group sessions of 13 mothers who participated in the mutual aid group. The process of data analysis focused the analysis of descriptions provided by interviewees, highlighting emerging issues. It was noted that parents who participated in group-help found benefits in their participation, outlining this group as a time of sharing, learning, and an added value in a Neonatal Care Unit.

Date of Award	Jul 2012
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Elisa Veiga (Supervisor)