Technics of touch in the neonatal intensive care

Medical technologies, although often crucial for the provision of healthcare, may carry unintended significance for patients and their families. The highly technicised neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is the place where parents of hospitalised baby have their early encounters with their child. The aim of this study is to investigate phenomenologically how the contact and relation between parent and child may be affected by the mediating presence and use of the techno-medical features and equipments of the NICU. Three common technologies are examined for the ways they condition the kinds of contact afforded between parents and child: the isolette, the feeding tube and the brain imaging equipment. The concluding recommendations speak of the need for understanding the relational experiences of parents of hospitalised babies, and the tactful sensitivities required of the healthcare teams who provide care to these families.