Beliefs and feelings experienced by mothers of children under phototherapy

Abstract

Case study with mothers of newborn babies submitted to phototherapy held in a maternity in Fortaleza, Brazil. The purpose was identifying the mother’s beliefs and feelings before the treatment. The data were collected in an interview performed with two open questions about the mother’s beliefs and feelings. The result was: 36,5% of the mothers feel fear and sadness; 27,3% with sorrow and fault. Regarding beliefs, 45,5 % of the mothers think that the baby feels uncomfortable; 27,3% of the mothers think that the baby is at risk of life. Conclusion: the mothers feel insecurity and unhappiness before the phototherapy treatment and they think that the treatment is uncomfortable for the newborn.