With advances in medicine, more and more premature infants who require round-the-clock nursing care due to one or more complex medical conditions are able to survive after receiving intensive treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The increased survival rate has resulted in a higher incidence of morbidity that may impose emotional and financial burdens on families, society and the healthcare system. This paper explores the experiences of mothers with premature babies who were admitted to a NICU. A generic qualitative approach was used to gain insights into the effects of the premature baby admission to a NICU through tape recorded semi structured open-ended questions interviews with 17 mothers whose premature babies were admitted to a NICU. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse, and report themes and patterns within the data. Qualitative analysis of the descriptive data obtained from 17 mothers identified four major themes and 13 sub themes relating to avoidance, effects of the separation, ceremonies and inadequate preparation. The findings have several implications for practice by care professionals. It can help nurses to develop interventions to prepare mothers to cope with new situations, decreasing stress and psychological problems regarding the admission of their infants to the NICU.