Relationships that promote and threaten family hope during pregnancy and care for high-risk newborns

Relaciones que promueven y amenazan la esperanza familiar durante el embarazo y cuidado de los recién nacidos de alto riesgo

Objective:  To understand the relationships that promote and threaten family hope during pregnancy and in the care of high-risk newborns.

Method:  Qualitative research, guided by the theoretical framework of Understanding the Complex Nature of Hope, carried out between December 2021 and March 2022, with 28 members of 14 families attended at a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic for at-risk newborns in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Data obtained from interviews in thematic oral history allowed the construction of narratives, genograms and ecomaps, which were subjected to deductive thematic analysis procedures.

Results:  The study highlighted relationships that promote and threaten family hope. Conflicting relationships, insecurity, indifference to the situation and unavailability to build bonds threatened hope. Reciprocity, attachment, relationship with God, self-confidence and protection of the newborn were constituent elements of relationships that promote hope during pregnancy and neonatal care.

Conclusion:  Family hope was constructed and given new meaning in intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships. Despite the uncertainties experienced by families, hope was strengthened in the relationship with oneself, with family members, professionals and with the transcendent, generating intimidation and a feeling of belonging. Knowing this context can help nurses promote family hope, through attentive and resolute listening, assertive guidance on gestational and neonatal risk, and support in neonatal care.

Descriptors:
Hope; Family; High-risk pregnancy; Newborn infant; Nursing research