THE MOTHER-CHILD BOND IN HOSPITALIZED PREMATURE NEWBORNS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract

Objective: To understand the mother-child bonding experiences of mothers of premature newborns hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Materials and Methods: Qualitative phenomenological study based on Colaizzi’s analytic method. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 mothers of premature newborns (<37 weeks) with a hospital stay of ?7 days in two public hospitals in the Colombian Caribbean. The interviews were conducted at two points in time: at hospital discharge and one month after the newborn’s discharge. Methodological rigor criteria according to Lincoln and Guba were applied. Results: The analysis revealed five central thematic units: (1) a bond that begins amid the fear surrounding premature birth; (2) the physical and emotional barriers of the hospital environment restricting mother-child contact; (3) the gradual discovery of the maternal role through small caregiving activities authorized in the NICU; (4) the progressive reconstruction of the bond at home after discharge, sustained by continuous contact and day-to-day learning; and (5) the emotional transformation of motherhood, where resilience coexists with psychological sequelae such as anxiety and feelings of guilt. Conclusions: The hospital context may hinder the initial formation of the mother-child emotional bond. Institutionalizing humanized practices in the NICU, such as early skin-to-skin contact, mother participation in care, and psycho-emotional follow-up after discharge, is recommended to protect and strengthen this bond.