“I remember how I first went down to the unit (p. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – NICU) I told the nurses my name. He didn’t tell them anything. They asked for the name of the child. “Oh, Mama Papadaki,” they say. Then one pregnancy, preeclampsia and caesarean section, I was not pregnant. I was neither before, after I became a mother, nor after, since I was not allowed to even touch the child I gave birth to. Meteors”. For the first time, he confessed to this thought. She only trusted her husband. But this is MENN’s new Parent-Child Support Group, which takes place every Tuesday at N. Louros” “Mothers”, with the free participation of moms, dads, doctors and nurses: a safe place to say the inexpressible.

On the other side of the circle, psychoanalyst and founder of the Institute for the Promotion of Mental Health “Koitida” during pregnancy and in the first years of life, Meropi Michaleli, who also took the initiative to create a group, reassured the newly-made mother. He told her that parents of premature babies often feel overwhelmed. Their child came to life, but instead of their hands, he is in an incubator in some corner of a sterile room, connected to a ventilator, and instead of their lullaby, he hears the repeated beep of machines. “What they dreamed about, being in a delivery room full of balloons and flowers, did not come true. The care of the child – feeding, dressing, cleaning – was taken over by MENN employees and technicians. Parents of premature babies are deprived not only of termination of pregnancy, but also of traditional parental functions. In other words, they become observers,” he later explained. ink”.

The cost can be significant. According to Ms. Michaleli, it has been found that parents of newborns admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit face mental health problems at a rate of up to 50%. At the same time, the first months of life are crucial for building a child’s relationship with the mother, and “research proves that a good outcome of a child’s health is also determined by the participation of parents in his care and hospitalization.”

This was emphasized by another new mother who took the floor. “Thanks to this group, we are given the opportunity to be closer to our children. I feel like I can participate in what’s going on.” “Participation is to come to the unit, put a thermometer, bathe children. It will happen at some point,” promised pediatric neonatologist Giorgos Mavrogeorgos, who, along with pediatric neonatologist Stamatina Leontiadis, are the new directors of the Mother’s Intensive Care Unit. “This is something that has been done for decades abroad. It’s time for them to happened here too.”

“Parents of premature babies are deprived not only of termination of pregnancy, but also of traditional parental functions. They become observers,” psychoanalyst Ms. Michaleli tells K.

What happens in this cycle, however, is primarily the destruction of the invisible wall between the parties involved. “We are not as familiar with some things as you are,” one father told doctors and medical staff. “We hear something and we can’t appreciate it, and we don’t think about the right questions. We think about them when we return home.”

The floor is taken by an experienced nurse. “I felt embarrassed after the previous group,” he admitted. “Many times, being carried away by many and difficult incidents, maybe I do not give the parent time to understand. What might be easy for me is a blast for him.” Maybe it’s a way to deal with your own stress. “We love your children too,” another nurse said, clearly moved. “When things go well, we rejoice with you.”

“Their First Family”

Mr. Mavrogeorgos emphasized: “We are their first family. They have us.” Hearing this phrase, the mother burst into tears. “I am very afraid, but I understand that you love the child.” The division manager stands up to hug her. Everyone needs care.

Increase in preterm birth

The birth of a premature newborn is an unpleasant surprise for parents, but not uncommon. Worldwide, one in ten babies is born prematurely. Greece has seen a gradual rise in preterm births in recent decades from 7.5% to about 13% in recent years. According to experts, the most important reasons for the increase in preterm births are the increase in the number of births that did not live to term after IVF, the increase in multiple pregnancies and the increase in the age of mothers over 35 years old. Inadequate prenatal care due to mental health issues, financial hardship, etc. also leads to an increase in preterm births.