The experience of mothers whose premature babies are in intensive care

Uvod: Po prezgodnjem porodu dojenčki začnejo svoje življenje v zelo mehanskem okolju enote intenzivne nege novorojenčkov, kjer se soočajo z intenzivno in medicinsko invazivno oskrbo. Proces je travmatičen tudi za starše tako zaradi negotovosti glede otrokovega preživetja kot tudi vplivov prezgodnjega rojstva na otrokov razvoj. Poleg tega so priča invazivni oskrbi, ki jo potrebuje njihov otrok, kar lahko starše zelo vznemiri. Namen: Raziskati, kako bivanje nedonošenčka v enoti intenzivne terapije vpliva na počutje mater in s katerimi problemi se le-te srečujejo. Metode dela: Naredili smo pregled strokovne in znanstvene literature v slovenskem in angleškem jeziku. Podatke smo pridobili preko svetovnega spleta po bibliografskih bazah Pubmed in Sciencedirect ter s pomočjo COBBISS-a in Google Učenjaka. Literatura je bila zbrana s pomočjo Prisma diagrama. Petnajst (15) izbranih člankov, ki so ustrezali kriterijem, smo ocenili po kakovosti glede na hierarhijo dokazov. Rezultati: Ugotovili smo, da se matere soočajo z negativnimi občutki, kot so strah pred smrtjo nedonošenčka, tesnoba, stres, nemir, nespečnost. Kot najbolj stresen izziv navajajo ločitev od dojenčka in prilagoditev starševske vloge. Najpomembnejši dejavniki zadovoljstva so možnost opravljanja starševskih nalog, strokovna komunikacija, dobro zagotavljanje informacij in čustvena podpora. Medicinske sestre imajo pomembno vlogo pri zagotavljanju psihološke stabilnosti mater ves čas hospitalizacije v porodnišnici. Večina mater meni, da obstajajo vidiki, ki bi jih bilo mogoče še izboljšati, da bi ublažili ali zmanjšali njihove stiske in tesnobo. Razprava in zaključek: Ugotovili smo, da so za izboljšanje psihosocialnega počutja mater pomembne tri ključne sestavine, in sicer druženje, socialna podpora in občutek pripadnosti. Zdravstveno osebje mora biti dobro izobraženo, da materam predaja ustrezno znanje in jim nudi ustrezno podporo. Težave in stiske mater je potrebno pravilno identificirati in na primeren način pristopiti k njihovemu reševanju.Introduction: After premature birth, babies begin their lives in the highly mechanical environment of a neonatal intensive care unit, where they face intensive and medically invasive care. The process is also traumatic for parents because of the uncertainty about both the baby\u27s survival and the impact of premature birth on the baby\u27s development. In addition, they witness the invasive care their baby needs, which can be very upsetting for parents. Purpose: To investigate how the premature baby\u27s stay in the intensive care unit affects the mother\u27s well-being and what problems they face. Methods: We made a review of the professional and scientific literature in Slovenian and English. The data were retrieved via the World Wide Web using the bibliographic databases Pubmed and Sciencedirect, as well as with the help of COBBISS and Google Scholar. The literature was collected using the Prisma diagram. Fifteen (15) selected articles that met the criteria was assessed for quality according to the hierarchy of evidence. Results: We have found that mothers experience negative feelings such as fear of the death of the premature baby, anxiety, stress, restlessness, insomnia. They cite separation from the baby and adjustment to the parental role as the most stressful challenge. The most important satisfaction factors are the ability to perform parental tasks, professional communication, good provision of information and emotional support. Nurses play an important role in ensuring that mothers are psychologically stable throughout their hospitalization in the maternity ward. Most mothers feel that there are aspects that could be further improved to alleviate or reduce maternal distress and anxiety. Discussion and conclusion: We found three key components that are important for improving the psychosocial well-being of mothers: socializing, social support and a sense of belonging. Health personnel need to be well trained to impart appropriate knowledge and support to mothers. Mothers\u27 problems and distress need to be correctly identified and addressed in an appropriate manner