Necessidades parentais no contexto da internação neonatal

Abstract

A baby’s birth is a transition and a change moment in the familiar dynamic. Prematureness and hospitalization of the newborn in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) beyond demand sudden adaptations from the new parents it starts to be part of the motherhood, fatherhood, and the familiar bond construction. In such context, it becomes essential to understand the father’s and mother’s needs who experience a premature born and hospitalization in a NICU once that influences the way parents relate with their baby, with the health care team, and the health institution. In this sense, the present study focuses on understanding parents' needs during the neonatal hospitalization. It is qualitative research that had three fathers and sevens mothers of premature newborn babies from several Brazilian regions as participants who has their babies hospitalized in NICUs just when they were born. Data collection was carried out online through a sociodemographic questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and a questionnaire about parent's needs in this environment. The results were analysed from a content analysis perspective, being subdivided into four categories: 1) Physical and Structure needs; 2) Emotional and support needs; 3) Guiding and information needs; and 4) Needs regarding day-to-day participation in the NICUs. They point out that there is still a discrepancy between the needs presented by the parents and their provision by the health institutions. Thus, it is concluded that although the advance of public policies which recognize the importance of parents’ insertion during the hospitalization and provide their permanence altogether with their babies, it is necessary that humanization practices be widespread in the health institution to contribute to the family integration during the care process, favouring the parents-babies bond.