ABSTRACT
Objective:
to understand the nursing mothers’ perception when experiencing the hospitalization of their premature neonates in an intensive care unit of a public hospital from Distrito Federal, Brazil.
Method:
a qualitative research study involving 11 nursing mothers and 24 medical records of those women and their neonates, including two twins. The data were collected between September 2019 and April 2020. The quantitative and qualitative data data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and through content analysis, respectively.
Results:
three categories emerged, which involved the hospital routine and the psychosocial and family impacts. Fear of complications and death, insecurity, anguish and changes in the social and family routine were evidenced. The support mechanisms involved psychological appointments, visits to the infant, family support and interaction with the team.
Conclusion:
the findings contribute to maternal and neonatal care by providing professionals and managers with an understanding of aspects inherent to human subjectivity that can exert an influence on care.
DESCRIPTORS:
Hospitalization; Neonatal Nursing; Premature Newborn; Mother-Child Relationships; Health Care