My Paradoxical Sunrises and the Ongoing Amazing Grace of NICU Narrative Medicine

ABSTRACT

In this autoethnographic account of my experience as a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) mother, I bring attention to socially silenced health issues begging our acknowledgment. The lack of discourse about complications with pregnancies and births leave too many women and men shocked and traumatized by experiences that are far more common than we believe. Currently, 10 percent of pregnancies in the United States end in preterm birth, which are often accompanied by a variety of serious health conditions requiring newborns to be admitted to a NICU. Postpartum depression rates among NICU mothers are 40 percent and parents of NICU children are at high-risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. As I lived and continue making sense of this journey, narrative medicine has been a constant source of strength. My hope is that my family’s story might enlarge our understandings of narrative medicine and its remarkable capacities as we live amid health challenges and learn to live with their lingering effects on our stories. Specifically, narrative medicine is a dynamic, relational experience capable of cultivating hope within contexts scattered with hardship, transformative in its immediate and long-term affective force.

Acknowledgements

I dedicate this work to my sons whose miraculous lives have taught me so much and continue to be a source of immense joy. To Jill Yamasaki and the anonymous reviewers whose guidance added clarity and depth to this manuscript, thank you for investing in my story. To our NICU friends, we love and cherish you beyond description.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.