Becoming a mother in the NICU : a grounded theory study

Abstract

Survival rates of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants have improved dramatically. This results in long periods of time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for the infant and the parents. The purpose of this study was to examine the process of maternal involvement with their VLBW infants while the infants were in the NICU. -- A grounded theory approach was utilized to develop a beginning theory of the mother's involvement with her VLBW infant in the NICU. From a sample obtained from a tertiary care unit serving a provincial population, twelve mothers were interviewed. The substantive theory which emerged Becoming a Mother in the NICU defines the process through which mothers proceed as they engage in the mothering role in an unfamiliar environment. It defines three stages in the process: a) caring from the margins, in which the mother as an interested observer experiences a state of anomie, gives over the care of her infant to the professionals; b) shifting the balance, as the baby's condition stabilizes, the mother increases her sense of ownership and responsibility; and c) making progress, where the mother more fully takes on her mothering role. -- The findings of this study give a better understanding of some of the conditions that promote or inhibit maternal involvement with their VLBW infants and what that process is like for mothers. Study findings also point to the significant contribution that nurses make to facilitate maternal involvement with their VLBW infants in the NICU.