The construction of maternal co-occupation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Introduction: The term co-occupation has been used by occupational therapists to define the implicit involvement of two or more individuals in an occupation. In this perspective, maternal care is considered a co-occupation, and occupational therapists seek to promote the insertion of the mother in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), maternal guaranteeing autonomy and independence in the care of the baby. Objective: To analyze how the construction of maternal co-occupation in the NICU takes place. Method: A qualitative, multiple-case study conducted at a philanthropic hospital in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and attended by six mothers of infants admitted to the NICU. Semi-structured interviews and the participant's diary were used as instruments of data collection. The data were submitted to content analysis in thematic modality with the use of MAXQDA software. The themes were grouped giving rise to two categories with their respective subcategories. Results: It was verified that the mothers experience different feelings related to the baby's hospitalization in the NICU, and their involvement in co-occupations in this context happens gradually, intensifying from the clinical improvement of the baby. Conclusion: The way mothers construct co-occupation during the infant's hospitalization in the NICU is based on their understanding and previous experience about motherhood, as well as on aspects related to the context of the NICU. It is necessary that occupational therapists know the expectations of mothers in order to build with them possibilities of involvement in co-occupations that meets their expectations.