[Caring and living with a premature infant: the father's experience]

This study aimed to understand the experience of fathers of premature newborns weighing less than 1500g. Ethnography provided the methodological framework and data were collected through participant observation and interviews. The cultural scenario was the Intensive Care Unit of a school hospital and the homes of 6 fathers. The results were presented as a narrative and analyzed according to the Interpretative Biographic Method. From the 8 cultural categories, 2 main themes emerged: The ability to become a father: fighting and growing moments, and caring and living with the son. These men's life- transforming experiences were understood in 2 situations: in-hospital, represented by the premature newborn, the suffering imposed by hospitalization and religiosity; and out-hospital, manifested by living at home and hope about the child's future, both of which held a combination of positive and negative experiences.