Nice parents equal nice babies: an ethnographic study in the newborn intensive care unit

This thesis presents an ethnographic approach to the study of human behavior in a medical setting. The Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NBICU). Participant observation was the principle method used in this work. The study was conducted in order to explore the social organization in a high-technological, crisis-oriented group of people, seeking to identify patterns of perceptions and psychological reactions of the nursing staff to their everyday work environment. The people within the study group include nurses, parents, and the babies themselves. Each chapter provides a composite statement derived from field notes to illustrate common, recurring behavior patterns in the NBIVU. Interwoven in these observations is relevant literature documenting and supporting these observations. A key analytic concept examined in this study is ritualistic behavior observed in the NBICU. Rituals are featured prominently throughout the study and are seen as important to the function of the unit.