When mothers cannot get appropriate support cumulatively, prematurity might occuras a traumatic experience longitudinally.

The most intense process for mothers is the infant's hospitalization in the NICU.

Premature infants' mothers should be supported longitudinally starting from the NICU process towards early childhood.

Fathers, other premature infants' mothers, and close family members should be considered in support practices.

Comprehensive early intervention practices are essential to benefit mothers' and their infants' well-being.

Mothers of premature infants are in the risk group for having psychological symptoms and attachment-interaction difficulties. Preventing these maternal risks is essential for providing optimal care and health opportunities for infants, consequently improving developmental outcomes.

In this study, we aimed to understand how mothers experienced prematurity within four processes retrospectively: (a) the mother's hospitalization after birth, (b) the infant's hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), (c) after discharge, and (d) in early childhood. We adopted Max van Manen's phenomenology of practice and interviewed nine mothers whose children were born premature and reached early childhood.

The themes were as follows: (a) incomplete mother; (b) facing prematurity, uncertainty, natural touch barrier, facing reductive social response, and NICU friendship; (c) being on the alert, a period of complete closure, and fighting with the reductive social response; (d) association to prematurity and (cannot) overcome the difficulties. We expressed the mothers' overall experiences through the metaphor “living with a birthmark.” This metaphor represents the longitudinal effects of prematurity. As much as it is apparent and painful at first, it fades over time, and the pain lessens, but the effects of the birthmark remain in early childhood. The birthmark becomes a part of the mother-baby relationship.

Our study contributes to premature infant care and health literature by highlighting the longitudinal experiences of mothers on prematurity.

Premature

Prematurity

Infant

Mother

Experience

Phenomenology

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