E focusWhat are parents’ 1st experiences of their very preterm infant What are parents’ initially experiences of seeing their baby inside the NICUKey messagesHighly emotional time, characterised by a `rollercoaster’ of emotions. Parents reported conflicting emotions about seeing their baby, which integrated feeling scared or excited about their 1st contact. Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) was an overwhelming environment for most parents, especially for all those who had not observed it beforehand or who did not see their infant till they were at NICU. Several fathers felt excluded throughout the birth and had been confused about their role.Strengths and limitations of this studyThis is definitely the initially study to describe the initial experiences of parents of pretty preterm infants in the UK. Findings are restricted for the experiences of White European parents. Future investigation ought to extend this to experiences of minority ethnic groups.College of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, East Sussex, UK two Academic Department of Paediatrics, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust, Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, Brighton, UK three Bliss (The Specific Care Child Charity), London, UK 4 National Childbirth Trust, London, UK five Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK 6 School of Health Sciences, City University London, London, UK Correspondence to Professor Susan Ayers; Susan.Ayers.1city.ac.ukINTRODUCTION Preterm birth is definitely the single most important determinant of adverse outcomes for infants and parents in terms of infant morbidity and mortality, the effect on the family members (eg, quality of life) and charges for overall health solutions. The highest mortality and morbidity occurs in really preterm babies born before 32 weeks gestation.1 In the UK quite pretermbirths account for 51 of infant deaths2 Hypericin despite only PubMed ID:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21330668 comprising 1.four of births. Very preterm birth raises distinctive issues for parents and for healthcare solutions. One example is, the birth might be fast and unexpected, and parents could possibly be instantly separated from their infant. The birth of an extremely preterm infant is generally an exceptionally stressful and traumatic time for parents.3 Clearly this has implications for healthcare services. Study can inform choices regarding the organisation and provision of maternity and neonatal intensive care services.7 eight Nonetheless, there has been small study focusing on parents’ initial experiences and reactions to preterm birth. Obtainable facts is eitherArnold L, Sawyer A, Rabe H, et al. BMJ Open 2013;three:e002487. doi:ten.1136bmjopen-2012-Parents’ initial moments with their extremely preterm babies based on case studies,9 10 parents’ experiences of care throughout their babies’ time in hospital114 or experiences of parents in non-Western cultures.146 Themes emerging from qualitative investigation include the ambiguity of feeling each joy and grief,17 comparisons made involving preterm birth and the `normal’ full-term encounter that mothers were denied,18 19 and references to the cold and frightening atmosphere on the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).20 Few research have examined fathers’ experiences of preterm birth. 1 exception is actually a Swedish study21 which found fathers reported 3 distinct experiences: (1) suddenness in the preterm birth and 
feeling unprepared to be a father; (2) their function as responsible for the welfare of their new family members and (3) the will need to be understood by employees. This highlights the importance of capturing fathers’ experiences also as mothers’ exp.
