Experiences of Parents of Preterm Children Hospitalized Regarding Restrictions to Interact with Their Children Imposed Because of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective. To describe the experiences of parents of hospitalized preterm children regarding the restrictions implemented in the neonatal intensive care unit -NICU- during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 Methods. Qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between April and October 2020 with 12 parents of preterm children, whose children were hospitalized and discharged from NICU during the pandemic. The analysis was performed with tools from grounded theory through open and axial coding. 
 Results. The study identified four categories regarding the experience: 1) needing information: refers to the need for clear and close information to compensate for the physical distance; 2) limiting the interaction with the children: expressed as a painful situation, which minimizes opportunities for learning to care at home for their preterm child; 3) the pandemic: adding to the fears: in which the virus appears as a new threat for the children, who are vulnerable given their premature condition; and 4) limiting social support after discharge: identifies that the parents had less family and professional support for care after discharge during times of pandemic. 
 Conclusion. Parents of preterm children lived a difficult experience that became complex within the context of the pandemic. The experiences of parents of preterm children during times of COVID-19 indicate that restrictions to enter neonatal units to prevent the virus transmission limited the interaction with the preterm child and with the health staff and increased the needs for information.

Mães de recém-nascidos prematuros no contexto da pandemia do COVID-19: uma abordagem qualitativa

“…Although motherhood may have been experienced by some interviewees, the challenge of being away from their newborn child during a pandemic was unprecedented for all of them. The physical distance imposed by the pandemic increased the fear among parents when experiencing the presence of a potentially serious new virus, as well as prematurity, which leaves their child more vulnerable to the disease (12) .…”

“…Despite experiencing a troubled period of hospitalization of their children, it was possible to notice the hope of mothers in the return of faceto-face visits and in meeting their child, as seen in the prevalence of the words "when", "put", "feel". The hospitalization of premature newborns in the NICU brings several feelings to mothers and, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents' restrictions in neonatal units are added to prevent the spread of the virus, which limited the interaction with the premature baby and with health professionals, leading to a lack of information about the child's condition and an increase in these parents' anxiety (12) .…”

Sociodemographic factors affecting depression-anxiety-stress levels and coping strategies of parents with babies treated in neonatal intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic

“… Al Maghaireh et al, 2016 , Bembich et al, 2021 , Cena et al, 2021 , Osorio Galeano and Salazar Maya, 2021 …”

Prematuridade: o acolhimento profissional em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal

“…Entretanto, nem todos os municípios brasileiros dispõem de Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal (UTIN), necessitando, por vezes, que os pais se afastem do seu ambiente domiciliar, profissional e cotidiano para garantir a atenção integral e humanizada ao recém- Research, Society and Development, v. 10, n. 13, e504101321190, 2021 (CC BY 4.0) | ISSN 2525-3409 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i13.21190 3 nascido. A isso soma-se a restrição no acesso a UTIN e seus profissionais, para prevenir a infecção pelo SARS-CoV-2, existente neste período, que contribui para fragilizar psicoemocionalmente esses pais (Galeno & Maya, 2021).…”

“…Com base no exposto, elaborou-se este relato de experiência como objetivo de fortalecer a disseminação do acolhimento profissional para mães de prematuros internados em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal. Já que, estudos desenvolvidos no período da pandemia pelo SARS-CoV-2 indicam o aumento nas taxas de prematuridade na população mundial, bem como revelam limites na humanização da assistência a essa população (Bhering, 2021;Allotey et al, 2020;Galeno & Maya, 2021).…”