[Evaluation of neonatal care discharge practices: three years experience]

This study purpose was to identify the advantages and limitations of our practice in planning newborns' discharge from the neonatal unit. We searched for appropriate actions to promote good family conditions and environment for infants being discharged from the neonatal unit.

During a six-month period in 1999, we interviewed 110 families whose infants were discharged from our units. All interviews were conducted by the same person using a semi-directive protocol to collect the parents' perceptions of their child's hospitalisation and discharge and their recall of the first days at home. Data were collected after a sufficient period of adaptation at home. Analysis of the interviews showed that different difficulties could be prevented. Based on these findings, we instituted different pluridisciplinary discharge group to review practices in September 2000. In 2002, the same type of survey was conducted to evaluate improvement.

Discharge from the neonatal unit was affected by the parents' perceptions of hospitalization, their ability to anticipate, before announcement of the "medical" discharge, home life with their child and to imagine their own professional and familial network.

The parents' abilities to elaborate a discharge plan all along their child's hospitalisation helps improve the newborn's arrival in the family.