Premature Birth and Quality of Life between Present and Future. Family Constellations and Relational Dimensions in Special Education

Abstract

Preterm birth is an event that affects about 30,000 babies a year, in Italy alone. The great advances made in neonatology (especially in recent decades) have drastically reduced the risk of mortality. The contribution intends to analyze the phenomenon of prematurity according to the parental and family dimension. Premature parents, in fact, are immersed in a situation for which they were not prepared, and which could interrupt or threaten the harmonious relationship with the newborn. In particular, the analysis will focus on the maternal and paternal pathways, in accordance with international literature. The goal is to promote interdisciplinary synergistic actions, which involve Special Education, both in direct support of families, and in the preparation of generative welfare actions as well as in the preparation of welcoming and family-centered environments within the Neonatal Intensive Care.