Mothers' Experiences of Infants Discharge in Iranian NICU Culture A Qualitative Study

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study examined mothers' experiences of the preparation of their infants for discharge in the Iranian neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) culture. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Participants included 16 mothers who had preterm infants who were hospitalized in Iranian NICUs. DESIGN: A qualitative study was used to describe mothers' experiences of infant discharge from the NICU. METHODS: Data collection was done by interviewing mothers who were in NICUs of Iranian University Hospitals. The qualitative data analysis package was used for coding and categorizing. RESULTS: Four themes were identified: learning from multiple sources, conditional discharge, enabled mother, and continued nightmares. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted several issues regarding mothers' experiences of infants' discharge plan. Nurses should be aware of these themes to support the mothers during preparation of their infants for discharge from NICUs.