Making Sure My Baby Is Cared for: Mexican-Heritage Mothers In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- Describe the mothering experiences of English speaking, women of Mexican heritage who have experienced the admission of an infant to the NICU?
- Discuss support and resources needed by English speaking, women of Mexican heritage who have experienced the admission of an infant to the NICU?
- Discuss implications for nursing practice.
Design: Grounded theory qualitative study
Setting: Participants were recruited from various locations (clinics, support groups, NICUs) in San Antonio, Texas.
Patients/Participants: Maximum variation sampling was used to recruit a convenience sample of fifteen English speaking, mothers of Mexican heritage who were at least 18 years of age and had experienced the admission of an infant to the NICU.
Methods: Data collection was conducted through audio taped, semi-structured, individual interviews and transcribed field notes. Data analysis consisted of constant comparison, open coding of data, and theoretical coding.
Results: This investigation resulted in the substantive theory making sure my baby is cared for by being there for my baby. The process began with the unexpected event of having an infant in the NICU and played out in the context of opposing forces (i.e., facilitating and hindering interactions): trying to be the mother or making meaningful connections. The mothers developed strategies for managing this situation by balancing responsibilities, leaving part of me with my baby, and watching over. The process concluded with one of two consequences: bringing my baby home or losing my baby.
Conclusion/Implications for nursing practice: Development of a quality nurse-mother relationship with open communication is essential when working with NICU families. Nurses need to make efforts to provide a degree of privacy for the mother and her infant and assist the mother to establish herself in the mothering role. In addition, nurses must be aware of resources available to support the mother during the NICU stay and aid her with accessing these resources. Lastly, in a case where the infant will not survive, bereavement policies must be in place for supporting the families through the death of their infant. Rigid hospital policies that restrict parents from assisting with bathing and dressing the infant after death if desired must be re-examined. Measures to assure privacy where families can grieve together without being rushed are a must and should include assistance with post-death arrangements when desired as well as bereavement counseling and resources.
Keywords: Neonate, maternal/child, mothering, intensive care, nurse-patient relationship
