Mothers’ experiences of the NICU and a NICU support group programme

Abstract

Objective: to understand both the maternal experience of the NICU and mothers' views of a NICU Parent Support Group. Background: mothers of babies who are born prematurely have their first experiences of parenting while their infant is in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This presents multiple challenges and a range of stresses related to their role as a mother and concerns about their baby's survival and growth. Thus, various supportive interventions have been trialled with this NICU parent population. However, the focus of this support and how it should be delivered lacks research as an evidence base for practice. Mothers' experiences of the NICU and a professionally facilitated NICU support group at a city hospital were explored in this qualitative research study. Method: nine mothers were interviewed in 2010 while their babies were NICU inpatients. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. Results: the NICU admission resulted in participant mothers facing challenges in getting to know their baby, forming their parenting role while in the NICU, and a reliance upon, but resentment toward, nursing staff. Positive feelings about their baby's strengths were also apparent. The parent support group was an important part of managing the experience of the NICU and was reported to meet the emotional support needs of these NICU parents. Conclusion: the implications and recommendations for NICU-based emotional support are discussed. In particular, modifications to support group structures to ensure professional staff involvement and a balance between education and emotional care are reviewed.

Starting parenting in isolation a qualitative user-initiated study of parents’ experiences with hospitalization in Neonatal Intensive Care units during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Generally, the Pandemic restrictions made it difficult to interact with peers [29]. Being together with other parents and sharing common experiences has been shown to meet parents' emotional needs and help them cope during these extremely unordinary times [30]; additionally, peer groups have proved to constitute a useful measure for NICU parents [31]. As NICUs discontinued organizing parent support groups and closed parent rooms, some mothers organized their own support groups.…”

Perspectives of time: a qualitative study of the experiences of parents of critically ill newborns in the neonatal nursery in North Queensland interviewed several years after the admission

“…Other negative experiences include difficulty inherent in juggling roles away from the hospital and leaving the baby 8 13. Resentment towards nursing staff for being able to spend more time with the baby has been found 14. By contrast, positive experiences include a welcoming attitude of the hospital staff,13 15 16 the ability of the parent to help their baby17 and good family support 13.…”

Maternal Coping with Baby Hospitalization at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

“…The decrease of Delegation as the hospital stay increased is indicative of this process. Furthermore, participation in the group intervention should be a factor to contribute to changes in the coping strategies of these mothers, as showed by literature (Chertok et al, 2014;Turner et al, 2015). This condition could have altered the mother's answers in the first interview (S2), but these situations were not analyzed in this study.…”

“…By analysing the experiences of mothers with PT-LBW babies at NICU and at risk of developmental impairments or death, we observed: (a) threats or challenges to Relatedness, as mothers who remain at the hospital with their babies are removed (temporarily) from their family and social life, and sources of social support are not always available or directly accessible at this time or even after discharge from the hospital; (b) threats or challenges to Competence, because the mothers do not always have the resources or information necessary to effectively face the challenges encountered in the hospital context and later, at home; and (c) threats or challenges to Autonomy, because the mother cannot directly influence the course of the baby's health, and so she finds herself in a situation that limits her ability to choose and to determine events (Siqueira & Dias, 2011;Turner, Chur-Hansen, & Winefield, 2015).…”