Parents' experiences with neonatal home care following initial care in the neonatal intensive care unit: a...

Area of Science:

• Neonatal care
• Pediatric nursing
• Family-centered care

Background:

• Improving survival rates for premature and critically ill infants increase parental responsibility in neonatal care.
• Family-centered care models raise new questions about parental roles and home-based neonatal care experiences.
• Advances in neonatal medicine necessitate evolving support structures for families transitioning home.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore parents' lived experiences with neonatal home care after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit.
• To understand the transition process and parental adaptation to caring for an infant at home.
• To identify how neonatal home care influences the parental role and family dynamics.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive qualitative study utilizing a phenomenological hermeneutic approach.
• In-depth interviews conducted with 22 parents participating in a Swedish neonatal home care program.
• Data collected between 2011-2012, within one year of infant discharge.

Main Results:

• Parents perceive neonatal home care as an emotional journey of becoming a parent.
• Key themes include the transition from hospital to home, developing independent parenthood, and processing NICU experiences.
• Parents described maturing in their parental role and integrating their infant into the family.

Conclusions:

• Neonatal home care effectively supports parents' needs during the transition from neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to home.
• This care structure bridges the gap between hospital and home, facilitating family adaptation.
• Neonatal home care empowers parents as primary caregivers, with nurse consultants supporting the entire family, embodying family-centered care principles.