Resumen

SANTOS, Sabrine M.  y  MENANDRO, Paulo R. M.. Reports from mothers with newborns in intensive care treatment about familial and conjugal relationships. Rev. bras. crescimento desenvolv. hum. [online]. 2005, vol.15, n.2, pp. 22-35. ISSN 0104-1282.

Mothers with newborn babies submitted to intensive care at hospital units find themselves in a delicate situation while waiting for the evolution of their children's health. Reports obtained in such a fragile moment revealed a great diversity of situations, diverging from the expectation that a child's birth occurs under conditions of stability and familial/conjugal understanding. An amount of 144 reports from interviews of mothers whose babies presented a good prognosis were examined. Data were analyzed based on a set of content categories about family, conjugal/love life, and motherhood, in a content analysis procedure. The results show the predominance of mothers less than 20 years old, who do not perform paid work, with formal education concentrated in the elementary and junior high school levels, and who lived consensual relationships or were already separated when the interview took place. The mothers' and fathers' initial reaction to the pregnancy news was of acceptance, although the idea of interruption was considered. In the case of the origin families, the initial reaction was, predominantly, unfavorable. This study showed that it is important that the analysis of the theme studied in this work is linked to the analysis of the social, economic, cultural, and familial context, implying a rethinking of the pertinent analysis and intervention practices.

Palabras clave : Motherhood; Family; Conjugal relationship; Newborn ICU.

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