Nursing care in the neonatal intensive care unit for newborns with respiratory distress syndrome in Brazil

Nursing care plays a fundamental role in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). In this place, the nurse is responsible for storing the newborn in the incubator, checking vital signs, as they need responsible individualized assistance. This paper describes nursing care in the NICU for newborns with Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS). It is a descriptive literature review study with a qualitative approach. Bibliographies were selected in the databases: Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO), Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (Lilacs) and Brazilian Journal of Interdisciplinary Health (ReBIS). Descriptors were used: Patient-Centered Care; Neonatal Diseases; Nursing. Ten studies were analyzed that showed that nursing care in the NICU for children with RDS consists of monitoring vital signs, performing invasive procedures, hemodynamic monitoring, monitoring the functionality of equipment, establishing a good relationship between mother-child, the team for with the patient and the family. In this assistance, nurses act in a thorough, individualized, humanized manner and must master technical-scientific knowledge to exercise their role with excellence. Their assistance is not limited to the newborn, but they also impact family members by playing the role of intermediary of information on the care provided, establishing interpersonal relationships, emotional bonds between mother and child.