Perceptions and actions of healthcare professionals regarding the mother-child relationship with premature babies in an intermediate neonatal intensive care unit: a qualitative study

摘要

BackgroundThe mother-child interaction after delivery may be hampered when the newborn baby is hospitalized. The objective of the study was to understand perceptions and actions of healthcare professionals (HCPs), working in an intermediate neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), regarding mother-child relationship of hospitalized premature babies in the first weeks after delivery and the professionals’ support for the development of this relationship within an NICU environment. The psychoanalytic concept of holding defined by Winnicott was used as the theoretical framework.