School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland.
J Clin Nurs. 2011 May;20(9-10):1462-71. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03311.x. Epub 2010 Sep 23.
The aim of this study was to explore the early experiences of parents who have a very preterm infant.
Very preterm infants are physiologically ill-prepared for extra-uterine life, but a greater number now survive birth and the postnatal period. The complex needs of the very preterm infant are met in the technological environment of the neonatal intensive care area, separating parents, physically and psychologically from their very preterm infant. Studies exploring the parental experience have identified parental stress; lowly parental status and attachment issues as areas of concern. However, there is little understanding about the early parental experience.
This study used a phenomenological interpretive design.
Ethical approval to conduct this study using two study centres was obtained. An interpretive interactionist approach guided this study. Data were collected from three sources: 20 parents of very preterm infants, five senior neonatal nurses and seven neonatal intensive care nurses. Purposive sampling was used for the first and second sources, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The third source of data occurred opportunistically through one focus group.
Analysis involved constant comparative analysis.
Crisis, uncertainty and powerlessness, properties of liminality framed this early complex parental transition. It is argued that the overarching theme of parental liminality best framed the parental physical, psychological and social experiences.
This qualitative interpretive study identified that parents of very preterm infants experienced many crises, uncertainty and powerlessness in their transition to parenthood, making them liminal people.
Parental liminality provides a means of conceptualising the early experiences of parents of very preterm infants, providing practitioners, at strategic and operational levels, with the means of developing supporting interventions in the early stages of transition for parents of very preterm infants. Such support could mediate parent-infant relationships.
本研究旨在探讨极早产儿父母的早期经历。
极早产儿在生理上尚未为宫外生活做好准备，但现在有更多的早产儿能够在出生后和新生儿期存活下来。极早产儿的复杂需求在新生儿重症监护区的技术环境中得到满足，使父母在身体和心理上与极早产儿分离。探索父母体验的研究已经确定了父母的压力、父母地位低下和依恋问题等关注领域。然而，对于早期父母体验的理解甚少。
本研究采用了现象学解释性设计。
获得了在两个研究中心进行这项研究的伦理批准。解释性互动主义方法指导了这项研究。数据来自三个来源：20 名极早产儿的父母、5 名高级新生儿护士和 7 名新生儿重症监护护士。第一和第二来源采用了目的性抽样，通过半结构化访谈收集数据。第三来源的数据是通过一个焦点小组偶然收集的。
分析涉及恒定比较分析。
边缘状态的危机、不确定性和无力感构成了这一早期复杂的父母过渡。有人认为，父母边缘状态的总主题最好地描述了父母的身体、心理和社会经历。
这项定性解释性研究表明，极早产儿的父母在过渡到父母身份时经历了许多危机、不确定性和无力感，使他们成为边缘人。
父母边缘状态为理解极早产儿父母的早期经历提供了一种方法，为临床医生在父母过渡的早期阶段提供了发展支持干预的手段，以支持极早产儿的父母。这种支持可以调节亲子关系。
