NEONATAL, PAEDIATRIC AND CHILD HEALTH NURSING

In an Australian regional health service, parents ’ experiences of the neonatal intensive care (NICU), neonatal nurseries and a community discharge programme were investigated. Parents from 12 families participated in an in-depth interview. Three themes captured a partial, yet significant, view of these parents ’ experiences as they strived to develop their identity and competence as parents. The findings are explored as they reveal issues associated with the provision of family centred, developmental care in neonatal services. Opportunities for nurses in this context to expand and clarify their role in ways that are responsive to parenting needs are discussed. This paper focuses on parents and parenting. It examines the experiences of parents of preterm infants, both in the context of hospital neonatal services and during the transition to home. The efforts and struggles of parents to attain parental identity and competence both within, and as a consequence of, the neonatal intensive care (NICU) experience ar