Qualitative study with social-historical approach which objective is to understand the history of transformations from practice in care of the newborn and his family, since the implantation of the first neonatal ICU in Florianopolis. The study subjects were 13 health professionals working in the ICU in the 1980s. For data collection Oral History were used, realizing semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was based on the Foucaultian reference and the following four discursive groups: The neonatal ICU giving new practices to newborns care, The health team's perception about the family in the ICU neonatal: resistance to new knowledge, Child's hospital as a reference for at risk newborn's care in Santa Catarina. The results of these researches allow to affirm that the implantation of neonatal ICU influence the qualitative in the care of newborn and his family, with focus oriented for the survival of the newborn and the consequences of these experiences are still current nowadays.
Intensive Care Units Neonatal; Newborn, Family; Infant care; History