ABSTRACT
Objective: To know the perceptions of mothers of premature newborns hospitalized in the Neonatal Unit in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Qualitative research carried out in June and July 2020, involving 12 mothers of premature newborns hospitalized in the neonatal units of a maternity hospital in the state of Ceará during the Coronavirus pandemic. Mothers were contacted via WhatsApp application. For the textual analysis, the descending hierarchical classification performed by the IRAMUTEQ software was used. Results: The mothers’ perception was centered on the difficulties faced in this pandemic period. The word “no” was strongly presented in the corpus of the text, evidencing the impact of the impediment of the visit, of the mothers’ permanence in the units and the fact of not being able to breastfeed. Conclusion: The provision of humanized care in neonatal units should not be limited to the newborn, and emotional support for mothers by the health team is essential © 2022. Online Brazilian Journal of Nursing. All Rights Reserved.