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The work programme in our department gave me the opportunity to organize meetings with the medical and non-medical staff. I was aware of the intense emotional stress experienced by the staff in the neonatal intensive care unit. I also felt it was important for the staff to be more fully involved in the emotional aspects concerning both parents and newborns. In addition, I became aware of the interest that my role in the department aroused among the staff.
The existing literature (De Caro, Orzalesi, & Pola, 1986; Marshall & Kasman, 1980) stresses the discomfort, fatigue, and tension in the context of nursing work, which often lead to the so-called “burn-out syndrome”. It is not surprising that this might be prevalent in our department when one considers that it deals with children who are at the beginning of their lives but under constant threat of death. This in itself is difficult to tolerate; but it is not all. In this unit, the medical and nursing staff deal with newborn infants who, by themselves—as the Kleinian school has already pointed out—are a source of very strong and violent emotions. Martha Harris, in particular, has