Difficulties experienced in providing care of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit during COVID-19

ABSTRACT

In this study, it was aimed to determine the difficulties in receiving care for infants who are in neonatal intensive care during the pandemic process. In this phenomenological study, interviews were conducted with semi-structured questions with the participants. While collecting the data, both observation and interview techniques were used. The situations that prevent getting care from nurses are as follows. The inability to establish skin-to-skin contact with the infant, the problems caused by the equipment that nurses have to wear, and the fear of COVID-19. Conditions that prevent receiving care from the mother are as follows: removal of family visits, interruption of kangaroo care, failure to initiate breastfeeding. As a result, infants faced many difficulties in receiving care during the pandemic period and their care could not be applied properly and regularly.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• infants
• nursing care

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Melike Yavas Celık

Melike Yavas Celık, a assistant professor of pediatric nursing, writes on newborn and child health. Among his recent book chapters (Social Life and Health Practices and Medical Sciences and Multidisiplinary Approaches) are Breastfeeding During COVID-19 (Turkey, 2021) and Aproach to the Newborn in COVID-19 (Turkey, 2021).Also, She did her doctoral thesis on supporting newborns with kangaroo care and the vulnerability perceptions of mothers of these newborns.

Selver Guler

Selver Guler, a assistant professor of pediatric nursing, writes on newborn and child health. She prepared her doctoral thesis on a topic related to newborn nutrition.