Iran Journal of Nursing

  Background and Aim: During recent 25 years, development in technology and investigation has been led to survive majority of newborns with low gestational age, even among very premature newborns. Hospitalization of premature newborns immediately after birth is inevitable in most situations. It seems that supports delivered by nurses for families of these newborns are very important. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the importance/amount of supports provided by nurses for mothers of premature newborns hospitalized in NICU.

  Material and Method: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used to conduct the study. The study population consisted of all mothers with hospitalized premature newborn in NICU (n=300) during the first 6 months, year 2007, in three teaching hospitals in Tabriz (Taleghani, Alzahra, Kodakan). Sampling method was census and data were collected by NPST questionnaire. Validity of the scale was confirmed in terms of content and translation validity. Reliability of the scale was determined with Cronbach alpha (α=0.9).

  Results: The findings showed that the most important received by mothers were informational-communicational and quality of care. Also, the difference between perceived importance and received support were statistically significant for four dimensions.

  Conclusion: Results showed that the mothers wanted more supports than they received from nurses. For this case, planning for promotion of nursing professional supports for parents, especially mothers with hospitalized premature newborn in NICU is necessary.