Abstract
ABSTRACTObjective: To understand the perception of the multiprofessional health care team regarding the inclusion of fathers in the care of preterm infants who are in Intensive Care Units (ICUs).Methods: This is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach, using a semi-structured interview with 12 health care professionals of a neonatal ICU, from February to July 2017. The data were analyzed according to the Discourse of the Collective Subject.Results: Seven main ideas (MI) emerged from the text analysis, which were grouped into two themes: 1) the role of the father according to the multiprofessional health care team views (MI1: parent provider, MI2: shared care, MI3: supportive father); 2) perception of the father caring for the hospitalized preterm infant (MI4: father does not change diapers; MI5: father conquering new spaces; MI6: strengthening the bonding; MI7: father providing maternal security.Conclusions: The results of this study point out to the importance of including the father figure in the humanized care of preterm infants. Professional health care team should be more aware of fathers’ importance in the care of hospitalized preterm infants.
Highlights
For a long time, the care of the child was sole and exclusive responsibility of the mother, while the father was responsible for supporting the family only
It is worth remembering that the insertion of the father is contemplated in Ordinance No 930, dated May 10, 2012, by the Ministry of Health, which describes the encouragement of participation and protagonism of both the mother and father in the care of a newborn as a guideline.[5]. This is a qualitative study integrated into a broad research project entitled “The figure of the father in the care of premature and low birth weight neonates hospitalized at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit”, funded by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), with the general objective of capturing and systematizing the father’s participation in the care of premature newborns
All health professionals of the unit were invited to participate in this study (n=38), four nurses, three residents of the second year of neonatal nursing, six neonatologists, three residents of the second year of neonatal medicine, 16 nursing technicians, one psychologist, one social worker, and four physical therapists
Summary
The care of the child was sole and exclusive responsibility of the mother, while the father was responsible for supporting the family only. This stems from the culture of distribution of family roles, in which the father must be responsible for providing the family with all necessary support, and the mother for the raising and care of children.[1]. When the father is inserted in the environment of a neonatal unit, he experiences a mix of emotions and challenges just like the mother, and, faced with this new situation, professionals perceive the presence of the father in the care and its evolution in this new process
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