Nursing and humanistic care to mothers as they face neonatal death

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the feelings of mothers facing the death of her newborn child and describe the family support as well as nursing care to the mothers. This is a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study. The subjects were 11 mothers with children hospitalized in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of a public hospital in Fortaleza, who had a neonatal death. Data was collected in October and November 2010 through a semi-structured interview and organized into three categories: Feelings of mothers throughout the neonatal period; Family support; and Nursing assistance to mothers, seen in light of Humanistic Nursing Theory of Paterson and Zderad. Sorrow, resentment, grief, loss, guilt were some of the feelings demonstrated by some of the mothers. It was concluded that nursing was present in this moment of mothers' grief.