Empowerment of premature newborns' mothers in the context of hospital care/O empoderamento de maes de recem-nascidos prematuros no contexto de cuidado hospitalar/El empoderamiento de madres de recien nacidos prematuros en el contexto de cuidado hospitalario

This study describes the empowerment process of premature newborns' mothers in the context of hospital care, through a qualitative piece of research with 16 premature newborns' mothers at a University Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Data collection occurred through semi-structured interviews from October to November, 2012. Data treatment with thematic analysis gave rise to three categories: the challenge of mothering a premature newborn; learning about the care of premature newborns in the process of maternal empowerment; and special care required by premature newborns in the process of maternal empowerment. In the hospital care context, the process of empowerment of mothers enabled meeting the reality of caring for a premature newborn. Nursing care went beyond techniques and/or technology and nursing professionals developed an efficient communication potential, contributing to individual maternal empowerment.