Mother's Experiences of Caring for Prematurely Born Infants: Growth Sparks in the Face of Caregiver Burden

Mothers of premature infants are exposed to maternal care needs beyond the ordinary and everyday responsibilities of caring for an infant. These special and unique needs will affect different aspects of life of the caregiver. Understanding these mothers’ experiences could help nurses in providing better care services. Thus, this study aimed to explain the experience of mothers of caring for prematurely born infants. The data collection process included 15 semi-structured and in-depth interviews with the mothers of infants born prematurely during 2012-2013 in four neonatal intensive care units (NICU) affiliated with the medical educational centers in Iran. All the interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and finally, analyzed using qualitative content analysis with a conventional method. Robustness of data analysis was evaluated by the participants and external control. Data analysis led to the extraction of "growth sparks" and "burden of care" categories. These categories have been revealed, respectively, in mothers with the subcategories of "improving maternal mental and physical conditions, changes in understanding, peace, and comfort of life", and " physical tension, psychological tension, and restrictions of life". The findings of this study confirmed the necessity of developing interventions to help mothers of premature infants during admission and after discharge from the hospital. Moreover, the nurses can benefit from the knowledge gained from this study in providing care and support for mothers and reducing their burden.