A Qualitative Study of Parents' Experiences of Bonding in End-of-Life Care in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Aim: To examine the parent's experiences of bonding in the care of newborns who were seriously ill during the neonatal period and did not survive.

Design: Data were collected through 7 interviews with 10 parents whose infants were cared for and died in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Methods: The interviews were pilot processed using inductive content analysis and then processed again using deductive content analysis with the attachment theory applied as a theoretical frame.

Results: Three main themes emerged from the parents' descriptions: 1. The parents' relationship with the healthcare provider: an alliance between the parent and the healthcare provider can facilitate communication, for example, the use of proposals to promote parents' role in the care; 2. The parents' relationship with the infant: parents' wish to fulfill the role of a protective parent, and it is of importance for the parents' future well-being to take part in care and decision making; and 3. The parents' relationship with the own self: in this unknown situation, parents' expectations of parenthood are broken, and they experience feelings of shame and powerlessness.

Conclusion: The relationship between the parent and the healthcare provider affects how the parents bond with their child and their experiences of the healthcare.