Contribution of the Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) for the maternal care of preterm neonates

Introduction: In the care of preterm newborn, practices that favor the participation of mothers in care are recommended. The use of appropriate instruments by professionals can contribute to strengthen maternal participation. Objective: To analyse the contributions of the use of the Newborn Behavioral Observations (NBO) for the maternal care of preterm neonates. Methods: Descriptive qualitative study, using participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 14 mothers of preterm newborns who underwent NBO. Data was submitted to content analysis, assinted by the software MAXQda 12. Results: It was found that the mothers' prior perceptions of the newborn´s capacities or how they react to environmental stimuli do not differ from what was observed and reported by them after NBO. However, it was verified that NBO confirms this perception and broadens the mothers' understanding of the meaning of the newborn's behavior. Participating in the NBO helped the mothers to identify strategies to find the needs of the newborn, qualifying the care already performed by them and opening new possibilities for maternal care. Conclusions: The NBO is an instrument that favors the mother's learning about the behavior of the newborn and contributes to the construction of practices with potential to be used by them within daily care. This allows us to consider it as a tool that favors the mother-baby relationship, contributes to the mother's participation in the care, and supports the mother in the construction of her autonomy for the continuity of the newborn's care after hospital discharge.