Significados atribuídos pelos pais à hospitalização do filho prematuro

Abstract

The birth of a premature baby and its subsequent hospitalization in a neonatal intensive care unit are critical events in the transition to parenthood, which generate a new transition. The meanings attributed by people determine the transitions that they experience. It were defined as objectives of this study, know and understand the meanings that parents attribute to their premature child’s hospitalization during the neonatal period. It was developed a qualitative research inspired by Grounded Theory. As instruments of data collection were used participant observation and unstructured interview of the parents of premature infants after seven and twenty-eight days of hospitalization in a neonatal intensive care unit from a hospital in Lisbon. The findings suggested “living in uncertainty” as a central concept associated with simultaneous meanings attributed by parents to hospitalization, including a “difficult transition” and a “compensatory experience”. The understanding of meanings was based on their conditions. About the conditions related to the family dynamics, there was the support from the grandparents and from the spouse as facilitators of the transition and having another child to care as a generator of difficulty. About the conditions related to the professionals and the service, the perceived professional skills and the relation of trust with the team facilitated the course of the transition, while the physical environment of the unit contributed to its difficulty. About the conditions related to the child, the clinical evolution and the parental participation in clinical care generated great satisfaction, while the separation from the child was very difficult. About the conditions related to the parents, the spiritual dimension was facilitator and the feelings of guilt, fear and sadness contributed to the difficulty of the transition. In conclusion, it should be noted the acquisition of knowledge and a better understanding about the meanings attributed by parents to their premature child’s hospitalization, remaining as a suggestion for future research other conditions of the transition, or even their nature or patterns of response.

Date of Award	10 May 2012
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Margarida Maria da Silva Vieira (Supervisor) & Conceição Alegre (Supervisor)