RESUMO
AIM: The knowledge is limited about how parents experience the time when their infant is receiving therapeutic hypothermia (TH) after severe perinatal asphyxia. The aim of this study was to explore parents' experience of closeness and involvement in their infant's care while in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with their newborn undergoing TH. METHODS: Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents (n = 11) whose infants (n = 8, aged 3-5 years at the time of the study) underwent TH at a level III Swedish NICU during 2013-2016. The interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: All the parents shared the trauma of being both physically and psychologically separated from their infant. They all described a need for information and emotional support, and reported that the NICU staff had influenced the extent to which they as parents had been able to be near and actively participate in the care. Parents described the wish to be closer to their infant and to be more actively involved in their infant's care. CONCLUSION: Strategies to enable parent-infant closeness and active guidance from staff might help alleviate the emotional stress of parents and promote their participation during TH.