Welcome to the Parent Stories webpage

This page focuses on what health professionals can learn from the narratives of parents of babies who were born prematurely, whohave spent their first days and weeks on a neonatal unit.  The digital stories below are based on key themes that arose from interviews with parents about their experience. Each story represents a pivotal metaphor about their experience that arose from analysis of their narratives. CLICK ON THE TITLES BELOW to view the stories. 

ANOTHER WORLD – A story about a family’s experience through the very different world of the neonatal unit

ON THE EDGE  – A story about uncertainty and survival in the neonatal unit

NAVIGATING THE WAY HOME – A story about the parent experience of going home with their premature baby.

NEONATAL NURSING IN A GLOBAL PANDEMIC– The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on neonatal care

CONNECTIONS  – A mother’s story about separation and bonding with her premature baby

FIGHTER – A father’s story about his son’s battle with the challenges of being born early

OUR SALVATION – A story about care and compassion in the neonatal unit and beyond

THE LONG HAUL AHEAD – A story about a family’s resilience along the long road to normality

OUT OF THE DARKNESS – A story about tough encounters through the neonatal unit into the light of going home

BITTERSWEET – A story about a fathers’ mixed emotions of having premature twins

‘’We all have experiences of relating to and living vicariously inside the stories that are told by others – whether those are real stories that have happened to them, or stories that they have created, using elements of their experience’’ (pg. 32; Fairbairn, 2002).

With Thanks to the Hertfordshire Community Nurses Charity for funding this project