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Introduction: The «Home Early Program» allow parents of premature infants to take responsibility for care of their infant at home during the last weeks prior to hospital discharge. Materials and Methods: An evaluation that involved 13 infants, including one set of twins, and 12 families, comprised 36% of infants, born prior to week 32 of gestation, over a one-year period March 1st 1998 to February 30th 1999. The method is exploratory and descriptive and uses qualitative semi-structured questionnaire. The theoretic framework focused on parents for a premature infant. Results: The parents were able to assume responsibility to care for their premature infant with support from the hospital's individualized guidance and through close contact with the neonatal department up to the time of discharge. The most difficult issues faced by the families during their infant's first year were related to growth and well-being, anxiety about infections, uncertainty regarding their infant's development and lack of qualified support. Conclusion: The «Home Early» Program strengthened the parent-child relationship, however, the neonatal department should strengthen the parent's competencies to read and act upon their child's signals. The department should further help qualify health visitor's support to families with prematurely born infants.

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