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  • Title: Clinging to closeness: The parental view on developing a close bond with their infants in a NICU.
    Author: Mäkelä H, Axelin A, Feeley N, Niela-Vilén H.
    Journal: Midwifery; 2018 Jul; 62():183-188. PubMed ID: 29684798.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: To identify and understand how parents develop a close bond to their infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive study; closeness and separation stories recorded in a smartphone application by the parents were analyzed using thematic analysis. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-three parents of nineteen infants who were taken care of in a level III NICU in Finland. FINDINGS: Bonding moments and a disrupted dyadic parent-infant relationship continuously alternated as in a rollercoaster ride during the hospital stay. Transitions from closeness to separation and vice versa were the most emotional stages on the journey. Parents had a natural desire to be close and create a bond with their infants; however, they accepted the separation as part of NICU care. KEY CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that closeness with their infant was the power that parents stored and that led them through unavoidable separation to normal parenthood. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Bonding and attachment will occur naturally if parents are close to their infants and permitted privacy and time with their infants. NICU staff should create a peaceful and calming environment that enables and supports this bonding process.
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