Beyond stress: describing the experiences of families during neonatal intensive care.

AIM

To determine whether parents of critically ill premature infants feel that neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) therapy is worthwhile, independent of their infant's outcome.

METHODS

The parent(s) of ventilated infants in the NICU were interviewed. Prominent themes were identified within the text of transcribed interviews and the frequency of each theme tabulated.

RESULTS

The parents of 10 infants were interviewed. All parents experienced stress and understood the uncertain future of their infants. Parents remained optimistic and uniformly expressed that NICU intervention was 'worth it'. No parent described concern about 'torture', 'cruelty' or 'futile care'.

CONCLUSION

Although parents experience significant stress while their infant is in the NICU, their emotional experiences are much more broad. They feel confident in their decision to give their child a chance, a responsibility to be informed and to make the best decisions they can and remain hopeful for a good outcome regardless of their child's condition.