Guía para padres de bebés nacidos prematuros. La internación

Abstract

Each year are born prematurely 15 million babies worldwide and premature birth rates continue to rise. One million children die from complications from his prematurity and many survivors face a life with sequels. Prematurity is the leading cause of neonatal death and the second cause of deaths in children under five. In a report by March of Dimes is a need to address urgent measures to deal with the millions of children born premature each year and ensure that all professionals can have an important role to make these measures. So working in the written information provided to relatives of patients admitted in NICU can be one of many possible ways to work on this goal. It is understood by premature baby, every infant born before 37 weeks gestational age. There are classifications of children born prematurely, Unicef puts based on gestational age: Between 36 and 31 weeks referred to Moderate Prematurity, between 30 and 28 weeks, Prematurity Extreme and when the birth occurs before 28 weeks, It is considered very extreme. Through experience in Perinatal Psychology in different institutions with hos pi talization in Neo natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Ciudad Autón oma de Buenos Aires and Gran Bue nos Aires, we have noted certain issues and char acteristics particular to the parents of children hospitalized in NICU due to their premature birth. The aim of this work was to create a guide for parents experiencing the hospital ization of their children in NICU that permits rapid and comprehensive consultation for those un familiar with psychological-medical termino logy. Compre hension is enriched by the addition of images and tables allowing cross-reference. This guide is intended to assist in empowering parents with children in NICU. This paper tries to give an idea that allows to remove the stigma of prematurity and take the child as a person who exceeds its prematurity. The issues dealt with in the guide are gener al ly expressed through questions and corresp onding answers: What does it mean that my baby has been born prematurely? What situations can my child experience during his/her hospitalization for premature birth and how is he/she assisted? What role do I play as mother or father in the neonatal unit? What care can I give as mother or father to my baby during his / her hospitalization? What signs does my baby present when they feel un comfortable or in pain? How can I comfort my baby? What is the experience of breastfeeding for a baby born prematurely? Can other family mem bers visit my baby while he/she is hospitalized in the NICU? Is there a parents' group? What exami nations will my child need after being discharged? Other informative items are added to help parents realize they are not the only ones, such as UNICEF's Rights of the Premature Child, experiences and feelings of mothers and fathers of babies born pre maturely, the sense of personal experience, recommendations, sites of interest on the internet (web and social networks) and biblio graphical references.We stress the use of the phrase child / baby born prematurely and not just premature, to highlight that this child is a person who goes beyond the circumstance of having been born prematurely. This helps the parents to think of the situation as related to an experience in the life of their child and in their lives, rather than a constant in time, thus aiming to avoid future stigmatization, anxiety and overprotection. In future studies could evaluate the impact of this guide on parents and health services.