Aspects of communication in neonatology
Aspects of communication in neonatology

Summary/Abstract: Birth represents a unique event in the life of every individual and for the family, a moment full of happiness. Often, these events are shadowed by a series of medical and social problems that sometimes endanger the life of the newborn. In this spirit, the neonatologist has the great responsibility to ensure the health of the newborn or diagnose any potential disease and communicate with the family. Numerous conditions expose the newborn to a difficult birth. Neonatal diseases are, often times, hard to understand for the family. This makes communication and collaboration very hard. Starting from this perspective, we propose to point out some important aspects of communicating a diagnostic in neonatology. We developed an interview guide that we applied to 9 neonatologists and 250 families that had newborn babies in Constanta Maternity between March and June 2011. The guide was constructed so that the answers given were meant to enhance the communication with the family about a potential disease and ensured the normal climate of care and the capacity to make the right decisions about the baby’s health. Our research emphasizes the importance of communication between the family and the neonatologists and the fact that it should begin before giving birth so that a relationship based on trust and optimistism can be establish.

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