Year of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Name

Counselor Education and Supervision

Department or School/College

Phyllis J. Washington College of Education

Committee Chair

Kirsten Murray

Commitee Members

Veronica Johnson, Sara Polanchek, Dale Mayer, Kate Brayko

Keywords

Anxiety, Counseling Support, Mental Health, NICU, Postpartum, Women

Publisher

University of Montana

Abstract

One in ten pregnancies end with placement of an infant into the NICU (NCHS, 2021). NICU mothers experience increased rates of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, (Lefkowitz et al., 2010; Lotterman et al., 2019) and little is known about their lived experiences in the NICU. To gain a better understanding of the stressor’s women face, this research asked: How do women with infants in NICU care make meaning of their NICU experience? Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith et al., 2009), two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants. The results revealed women’s emotional experiences while having an infant in the NICU. In this process, women move from sudden entry into the NICU to encountering challenges of being bypassed once there. Then, women manage their emotional energy with an external focus of doing, and later, in an internal, lonely, emotional battle. In this Deep Dark Battle, Women struggled with guilt, a sense of failure, and personal despair. Women also found supports to help them escape this internal spiral. Post-discharge, women worked to integrate their NICU experiences, often while managing pervasive anxiety and trauma. Women were also able to reflect on their strength and resilience after leaving the NICU. The findings establish the pain and distress women endure alone in the NICU. Results provide insight for offering accessible, skilled, counseling support and a position for medical providers to intervene with preventative care for women with infants in the NICU.

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© Copyright 2023 Molly Kay Murphy