Maternal bond with cardiosurgically treated infant. Qualitative analysis of mothers' narratives.

The aim of this work is to describe the experience of being a mother by women who together with their children stay on the ward after cardiac surgical correction of congenital heart defects. The research material consisted of the narratives of mothers whose children were born with a heart defect and surgically treated. Four women aged 21-30 years were participants of this study. The age of the subjects' children ranged from 5 weeks to 1 year and three months. The heart defects with which the children were born were hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS ) or atrioventricular canal defect. The research was carried out using the narrative interview. Qualitative analysis was carried out according to the rules of thematic analysis. The results of the research confirm that cardiac treatment can have a significant impact on maternal care patterns and the mother-infant bonding process. Intermittent contact with an infant can lead to loss of control over what happens to the child and the loss of a sense of competence to care for him. Medical staff face the challenge of supporting the parents of hospitalized children in the process of building relationships with a sick infant. The actions of doctors and nurses to enable parents to care for a baby can help foster their sense of competence and responsibility.