Regional neonatal unit as referral centre for babies requiring total body cooling: perceptions of the staff.

In the recent past, a busy tertiary neonatal unit would only care for a few babies with perinatal asphyxia each year, but with the advent of cooling many tertiary units have become the regional centres for treating these babies. Providing nursing and medical care for cooled babies and their families can often be an intense, distressing experience for the staff involved. This study explores the experiences, feelings and attitudes of staff when caring for babies requiring total body cooling through in-depth semi-structured interviews.