Supporting parenthood in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) means offering dedicated services and professional actions aimed at families and the healthcare providers who are part of complex births. The goal is to "care for those who care" by establishing a multidisciplinary and multispecialty network to support perinatal health, which seeks to preserve and foster human cognitive, affective, emotional, and relational potential.
This article begins with a story of a birth suddenly disrupted by prematurity and/or the early encounter of the newborn with illness, aiming to delve into the parental experience in the NICU. It emphasizes the importance of the environment welcoming the hospitalized infant and highlights the need for interventions designed to nurture hope and trust within the parent-child relationship, regarded as a valuable protective factor for the harmonious development of the future adult.
Federica Gabrieli
Psicologa
Bari