Yenidoğan Yoğun Bakım Ünitesinde Bebeği Yatan Annelerin Dini Başa Çıkma Süreçleri
Religious Coping Processes of Mothers in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Yazar: Merey, Zeynep; Şentepe Lokmanoğlu, Ayşe
Dergi: Bilimname, Vol. 2019 No. 37, 2019
Anahtar kelimeler: Psychology of Religion,Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,Coping,Religious Coping ; Din Psikolojisi,Yenidoğan Yoğun Bakım Ünitesi,Dini Başa Çıkma

Bu araştırmanın temel amacı, bebeği farklı nedenlerle Yenidoğan Yoğun Bakım Ünitesinde (YYBÜ) yatmakta olan annelerin, yaşadıkları problemler ile nasıl başa çıkmaya çalıştıklarını, bu süreçte kullandıkları dini başa çıkma tarzlarını ve bunların etkilerini, manevi desteğe ihtiyaç duyup duymadıklarını tespit etmektir. Makalede, nitel araştırma yöntemi benimsenmiş, yarı yapılandırılmış mülakat tekniği uygulanmıştır. Araştırma, Kasım 2018-Aralık 2018 tarihleri arasında Sakarya Üniversitesi Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Yenidoğan Yoğun Bakım Ünitelerinde bebekleri olan veya yeni taburcu olmuş, beş günden fazla yoğun bakımda kalan bebeklerin annelerinden oluşan 15 kişi ile yapılmıştır. Mülakatlar hastane içerisinde YYBÜ annelerinin kalması için yapılan “Anne Oteli”nde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Mülakat soruları, katılımcıların postpartum (doğum sonrası) dönemde oldukları dikkate alınarak hazırlanmış, onları daha fazla üzecek ve strese sokacak ifadelerden kaçınılmıştır. Elde edilen verilerin değerlendirilmesinde betimsel analiz yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın sonucuna göre katılımcıların çoğu yaşadıkları bu süreci stres yaratan bir olgu olarak algılamış ve bu durumla başa çıkmak için dini motiflerden yararlanmışlardır. Özellikle dua etmek, katılımcıların en çok başvurduğu olumlu dini başa çıkma unsuru olmuştur. Çoğunlukla bebekleri YYBÜ’de iken dua etme sıklıkları artmıştır. Bazı katılımcıların yaptıkları herhangi bir yanlış veya hatadan dolayı bu şekilde cezalandırıldıklarını düşündükleri bulgulanarak, olumsuz dini başa çıkma yöntemlerini de kullandıkları ve bu annelerin stres düzeylerinin daha yüksek olduğu görülmüştür. YYBÜ annelerinin bu süreçte eş ve ailelerinin desteğine her zamankinden daha fazla ihtiyaç duyduğu; konuşup, rahatlama, moral ve motivasyon isteklerinin olduğu; manevi desteğe ihtiyaç duydukları tespit edilmiştir.

The hospitalization of newborns to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is a stressful situation for parents. Mothers who imagine delivering a healthy baby may experience a crisis and undergo feelings of shock, anxiety and grief after giving birth to a premature baby, baby with congenital anomalies or baby with serious diseases, and have to endure self blame in most cases. Similar to mothers in the NICU, most people use coping mechanisms in the face of stressful situations. The way in which an individual handles stress is called coping. The role of religion in the coping process has gained much importance in recent years. Religious coping is defined as the use of beliefs in the process of problem solving and dealing with stress. In this context, the main aim of this study is to explore how the mothers, who have newborns admitted to NICU for any reason, cope with the problems they encounter, to explain the religious coping strategies they use in this process, and to determine whether they need spiritual support in this situation. In this study, qualitative approach is adopted and semi-structured interviews technique is used for data collection. The research sample is consisted of 15 mothers of infants, who were hospitalized or recently discharged from the NICU of Sakarya University Teaching and Education Hospital in which they stayed in the intensive care for more than five days between the dates of November 2018 and December 2018. The interviews took place in the “Mother Hotel” which is a place created inside the hospital in order for NICU mothers to stay. Interview questions are prepared considering the participants’ post-partum period, and we carefully abstained from expressions that may cause more stress and pain. Descriptive analysis method has been employed for the evaluation of the collected data. In this study, participants’ age range is 22-42, with the average age of 30. Participants qualified themselves as moderate in terms of religiosity and economic status. The majority of the infants of the participant admitted to NICU due to prematurity while only a few had medical conditions. According to the results of the research, it has been found out that a majority of the participants (11 mother) felt fear, shock, grief and disbelief at the very first moment that a NICU admission is anticipated for their baby. Three of the participants stated that they felt positive emotions such as relief and confidence, knowing that their infants are admitted to the NICU. According to the majority of the participants, the most disturbing situation in this process was to be separated from their babies. Three participants expressed their discomfort with the behaviors of the healthcare professionals, and three participants expressed the inconvenience of the medical equipments in the NICU. One of the participants stated that the aspect that disturbed her most was the health problem of her baby, while another stated that it was very upsetting for her to acknowledge that the baby was crying inside the incubator. One other participant stated that the most distressing aspect for her was the possibility of her smoking habit might be the reason for her baby’s admission to the NICU. Moreover, 11 participants have other children at home. Mothers expressed their sorrow for leaving their children who needed care at home during their stay in the Mother Hotel within this period. Also breastfeeding problem is highlighted as one of the negative factors affecting the mothers. The mothers asserted that the periods they did not have access to their babies were causing higher levels of stress in comparison to the periods they had the access to their babies. When they were asked about the future concerns, it was observed that the majority of the participants were concerned about the potential negative effects on the health condition of their babies in forthcoming years. We also asked the participants about the ways to relieve stress, and they stated that they provide care for their other children in order to ease the process. Some elucidate that they were crying in order to relieve the pain, while others stated that they were relieved as they provide breast milk for their babies. Some participants explained that they were relieved by talking to the mothers who experience the same situation. 14 participants claimed that it was the children who help them survive difficult times. Some of the participants explained their situation as fate, and will of God, some of them considered it as a punishment, some seen it as a result of their own negligence, and some of them explained it as merely a health condition. The participants, who perceive, comprehend and explain this process of intensive care unit only as a “health condition”, and do not feel the need to refer to other things, seem to indicate lower levels of stress than the other participants. Moreover, there was no increase observed in the religious practices of these participants. However, the participants who refer to notions such as negligence/self-blame, punishment and fate, declare that there has been an increase in their religious practices. In addition, it has been noted that the participants who recognize the situation as fate, destiny, God’s testing, and will of God, were observed to have been prevented from the feeling of remorse, self-blame, guilt. According to the results, it has been seen most of the participants used positive religious coping styles. The participants who adopt the positive religious coping methods often tend to lean towards “prayer and dhikr”, and the frequency of practices increased significantly during this period. However, some participants believed that they were being punished by God due to their own mistakes, and adopt the negative religious coping strategies. It has been clearly seen that the participants who adopt the negative religious coping strategies were inclined to have higher levels of anxiety and stress in comparison to other participants.It has also been found out that some of the participants adopted traditional methods and the methods suggested by acquaintances. Some individuals took a vow, some had made amulets, and some of them ask people to read verses from the Quran and pray for their well being. 6 participants seemed to show no interest in such practices. In this study, it was observed that the mothers who received support from the friends and family were more at peace with their situation. 11 participants had the support from their spouse and inner circle of friends and family. It was noted that the mothers’ expectations in this process was particularly concerning the care of their other children, moral support and understanding from their support system consisted of friends and family. 4 of the participants marked that they were blamed by their family for the current period, and this situation only increased the amount of stress they experienced. It was determined that what the participants needed was to have conversations, to have motivation, and to relieve stress. They needed a “Spiritual Support Officer/Spiritual Counselor” who would listen and understand their needs, motivate them, and approach them without criticism; and they expressed that the majority of participants would find it relieving to have a moral supporter with them. Also, it was observed that the mothers who have other children at home seemed to be in distressed due to the fact that they could not be with them; the mothers who compelled to stay in the NICU for a longer period of time seemed to feel more exhausted compared to the other mothers. In other respects, it has been clearly seen that the mothers who were discharged from the hospital showed indications of lower level of anxiety, and higher level of happiness. As a result, it has been clearly seen that all 15 participants, without exception, adopted religious coping strategies according to the answers given to the different questions. Religion has been both a safe haven to insure the health of their babies, and the main source for mothers to deal with stress they experience.