OBJECTIVES: to investigate the daily routine of mothers rooming-in at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. METHODS: qualitative research carried out at the Sofia Feldman Hospital in Belo Horizonte, in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The data was obtained by way of participant observation and a focus group and the instruments used to record the data were field diaries, recorders and tapes. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: when deciding to room in, the mothers feel divided between meeting the needs of the hospitalized child, the demands of the family and their own needs. Living in a hospital environment requires that mothers become detached from her daily routine and adapt to a new pattern which is determined by the institutional routines and norms. Rooming presents mothers with the opportunity to establish relationships of friendship and solidarity, but it is also a time of conflicting relations for them. CONCLUSIONS: the relationships between the mothers, and with their families and health workers were shown to be important for adaptation to the rooming-in process. The study showed the importance for health workers to get more involved in the real-life situation of the mothers in order to facilitate their adaptation to the new daily routine.
Newborn; Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU); Rooming-in care