Abstract:
Aim The aim of the study was to increase knowledge and understanding of how women begin their roles as mothers when their infant is in the neonatal nursery. Background Research is limited into how women experience mothering in contexts such as the neonatal nursery. Consequently many nurses and midwives remain inadequately informed of parents¿ experiences which we know may have long-term family outcomes. Method This paper presents the overarching synthesis of a grounded theory analysis of data collected from 28 Australian women whose infants were in Special Care Nurseries. It draws together a number of previous publications that have described in detail the categories derived from the analysis that explain the actions, interactions and reactions women engage in as they seek to `connect¿ with their infant. Data collection consisted of two in-depth interviews conducted with women, 333 h of taped cot side recordings, field notes and interview data collected from 20 nursery staff, 19 of whom were midwives.
