Introduction:

A child birth is expected to bring feeling joy and illusion. This situation gets destroyed when the newborn requires admittance into a neonatal care unit, which causes the parents to feel sadness, fear and culpability. They feel the need for support and, by becoming active subjects in their child's care, their anxiety level decreases and their satisfaction improves. The family constitutes the nucleus of development for the newborn. Hence, the importance of nurse role in fostering family ties.

Objective:

To explore relationship nurse-parents-neonate from the perspective of the neonatal care unit nurse.

Methods:

Qualitative study whose theoretical framework is symbolic interactionism. The study population was made up by nursing professionals of the neonatal care unit of La Paz University Hospital. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using grounded theory as methodological framework.

Results:

Six interviews were carried out and data saturation was achieved. Twenty categories and 12 subcategories were generated. The participants identified elements affecting the interactions between nurse, parents and newborn, as well as the need for individualizing care during the newborn non-linear evolution.

Conclusions:

The figure of the nurse is fundamental in the care of the newborn and the parents, which determines that the relationship nurse-parents-neonate is complex, dynamic and unique.

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