A FÉ NO CONTEXTO DE UMA UTI NEONATAL: O IMPACTO DA RELIGIOSIDADE NA VIDA DAS MÃES DE RECÉM-NATOS PREMATUROS DO HOSPITAL DOS PLANTADORES DE CANA EM CAMPOS DOS GOYTACAZES/RJ

Abstract

This Master's Thesis aims to describe the main perceptions of changing behavior, regarding spiritual and religious practices, of some mothers in the Neonatal ICU when facing the adversities of prematurity of their babies, from the observation of mothers who said they were "without religion” or “did not believe in God”, and that faced with the negative impact of pain, they had an experience of faith. For the premature baby's family, especially for mothers, prematurity establishes a condition of pain and suffering when seeing their loved ones and fragile in a condition of vulnerability and hospitalization, being subjected to varied and constant manipulations and interventions, sometimes invasive. Based on this ambience, the following problem-questions were established: how are the practices of faith developed and manifested by mothers during the hospitalization process of premature newborns in the Neonatal ICU, aiming at their prompt recovery? How is religion understood by these mothers in coping with the pain and uncertainty of their baby's prognosis? This is a qualitative research, carried out through a Literature Review, supported by theorists such as: Rigacci Jr., Rieth, Dalgalarrondo, Cervelin and Kruse, among others, in order to demonstrate the theoretical-methodological value of the aforementioned theme, highlighting some concepts such as: prematurity, spirituality, religiosity, body health, intensive care unit, humanization, and expression of maternal faith in coping with pain. This dissertation also proposed the realization of a Field Research in a NICU aiming to investigate the faith experiences lived by 50 mothers of newborns facing the hospitalization of their babies. The survey results show a greater adherence by the interviewed mothers to religious practices, after the birth of their premature babies.