The Bittersweet Experience of Parents Living With Premature Multi-Birth New-Borns Publisher



Tabarsy B¹ ; Mirlashari J^{1, 2} ; Nikbakht Nasrabadi A¹ ; Joolaee S^{3, 4} ; Brown H⁵
Source: Early Child Development and Care Published:2022

Abstract

The birth of preterm multiple new-borns, especially triplets or more, creates numerous psychological and clinical challenges for parents during the neonatal and infancy period. This study investigated parents’ experiences of parenting preterm multiple-birth new-borns. A qualitative study was undertaken using an interpretive phenomenology study methodology. The study sample was created purposively yielding 15 parents who were parenting three or more premature new-borns with one or more of them admitted to the neonatal intensive care (NICU). Four main themes were constructed during data analysis. These included: ‘being abandoned in an unknown endless path’; ‘constant erosive concerns’; ‘sacrificial self-forgetfulness’; and ‘the manifestation of growth and maturity’. The parents of preterm multiple-birth neonates described how their experiences ranged along a continuum from bitter to sweet sifting and between these two emotional states was common. Optimizing their experiences, to be more sweet than bitter, can be realized through supportive and individualized family-centred care. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.