Between birth and death: palliative care in the experience of health professionals

Abstract

Objective: To understand how the health professionals of a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in a high-risk maternity hospital experience neonatal palliative care. Methods: Qualitative study carried out using the critical phenomenological method and with the unstructured interview as instrument, performed from October to December 2015, with participation of eight health professionals of the said NICU. Four categories arose: Experiencing palliative care; Giving meaning to the baby with no prognosis; The families of the babies and the affectation of professionals; and Traversing death in the lived experience of the professionals. Results: The main findings of the study indicate that palliative care for the professionals can be portrayed from different aspects. For them, looking and caring for babies without prognosis are intertwined with the onset of affective involvement; the experience of contact with the family also appears as a way of being affected, as feelings that had not emerged before arise; and the moment of the baby`s death is a challenge full of difficulties to face. Conclusion: It is perceived that, even without the palliative care program at the institution, there is the initiative to perform a practice that approaches that kind of care, especially with regard to seeking comfort for the baby and greater inclusion of the family, what already demonstrates that they are sensitized awareness to this perspective.