AVALIAÇÃO DO NÍVEL ESTRESSE DE MÃES DE PRÉ-TERMO EM HOSPITAL UNIVERSITÁRIO 1

The stress of mothers of Preterm Newborns (PTNB) provides great insecurity concerning the care towards their infant. Assessing the stress level of these mothers facing the prematurity contributes to propose appropriate nursing interventions that help to improve the maternal self-confidence and also the interaction with the infant. The objective was to identify the stress level of mothers of PTNB hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit 1478 Fernandes JN, Viera CS, Guimaraes ATB, Toso BRGO, Machineski GG Cienc Cuid Saude 2015 Out/Dez; 14(4):1471-1479 (NICU). This is a quantitative research, developed in the NICU of a University Hospital, that used the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU), validated in Brazil in 2009, with 20 mothers from April to July, 2014. Some analyses were carried in the program XLStat 2014, the level of significance for all the tests were 0,05. This tool measures the stress in three subscales: sounds and images; infant’s behavior and appearance, and alteration in the parental role. The stress level found was very stressful (3,8), mainly in the subscale alteration of the parental role (4,3). PSS:NICU is an effective tool to evaluate the stress, demonstrating that younger, primipara and with extreme PTNB mothers are more vulnerable. They must receive a special look at their needs enlarging the competency and maternal security when providing care towards the infant.