Author:

• Rosangela Torquato Fernandes - Fernandes, R.T. - São Luís, Maranhão - Universidade Federal do Maranhão -UFMA - <rosangelatfc@hotmail.com>

Thematic Area:

Não Categorizado

Abstract:

The aim of the present study was to analyze the network of events involved in preterm infant abandonment by their mothers. A qualitative study carried out with 12 mothers of preterm infants hospitalized in the Prenatal Care Unit of the University Hospital of the Federal University of Maranhão – Brazil. The utilized techniques were semi-structured interviews and focus group performed during hospitalization and in follow-up outpatient unit. The sample was defined according to saturation criteria, from dialogue repetition. Content analysis was utilized as thematic scrutiny. The results show the difficulties of being a preterm babe mother. Several modes of abandonment in the mothers’ life history were identified such as: abandonment by relatives, social abandonment, and abandonment by the partner; which may have contributed to the manifestation of intent to abandon and/or maternal neglect. Abandonment by the family was evidenced in childhood and adolescence as well as on pregnancy, and during infant hospitalization. Another highlighting point was the perception of caring as a maternal duty leading to the building of the ideal model that a good mother is loving and does not abandon. Family, social, and health professional support networks can contribute to maternal empowerment, assisting in the bond construction that leads to refraining to abandon. Therefore we concluded that an abandoned mother might become an abandoning mother, and that, support networks providing attention and protection may turn the history of the abandonment cycle around.
Keywords: Newborn abandonment; Child abandonment; Prematurity.

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