The preterm birth is an event that may influence children’s health, cognitive and emotional development and may also affect the relationship between a child and its parents. The experience described concerns construction of a reception service and provision of counseling specifically for children born with severe prematurity. Such services were created in collaboration between psychologists and neonatologists at the Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Rome and rely of the monitoring of the development process of the newborn with a gestational age <32 weeks up to 5 years. This project has the following objectives: to assess the child’s development, to facilitate dealing with the effects of the traumatic event and to provide advice to the parents on development issues. A meeting with a psychologist involves four stages: a) Acceptance of the parents’ experiences and representations of their child; b) Observation of the parent-child interactions; c) Interaction between the psychologist and the child through the structured game; d) Restitution and discussion with the parents of the resources and capacities of their child. In our experience such early intervention promotes the integration of the biopsychosocial well being of a preterm child and his/her family.
Keywords: Preterm family, counseling service, health promotion

Ausilia Sparano, Paola Epifani, Daniela de Berardinis, Rosa Ferri, The construction of a service for families of children born preterm: an experience of health promotion in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 2/2011, pp. 123-137, DOI:10.3280/PDS2011-002008