The importance of the host family in neonatal intensive care unit

Resumo

Objectives: to describe the importance of partnership between the nursing staff and family of the newborn preterm infants hospitalized in a neonatal ICU, and describe strategies that can be used by professionals, to accommodate these families. Methods: this was a study in the database of the Virtual Health Library were used seven search strategies. The limits were: the subject descriptor; age of newborns (up to 1 month) and infants (1-23 months), work done with humans, published from 2003 to 2008, in Portuguese, English, Spanish. We selected 10 references. It also used a master's dissertation, which addresses the central theme of research. Results: the partnership between the nursing staff and family favors increased contact between parents and son, works for the clinical recovery of the premature and the mother, improves the emotional state of parents, minimizes the occurrence of feelings and physiological complications. Strategies such as the inclusion of parents in caring for the child, demonstrating the importance of the presence in the family unit, and the promotion of education, need to be implemented in the ICU. Conclusion: It is essential that the team becomes a support to the families of newborns admitted to ICU. Descriptors: family; premature birth; interpersonal relations; neonatal intensive care.