Introduction:
Parents who prepare themselves to take care of their newborns require support from the professional nursing staff. They need to obtain appropriate knowledge of the neonatal period and development of the neonates.

Objective of the study:
To elaborate on parents’ knowledge of the neonatal period and their expectations of the nurse and midwife.

Material and Methods:
The research group consisting of 111 parents of healthy neonates born in the St. Sofia Specialist Hospital in Warsaw between 16 December 2010 – 10 February 2011 who participated in the survey, conducted on the basis of a specially prepared questionnaire.

Results:
The correct classification of the transition stages in newborns was given by 80.2% of the parents. Slightly over a third of the subjects (37.8 per cent) were aware of the necessity of vitamin K administration to prevent haemorrhagic disease in the newborn. The parents expected nurses and midwives to inform them about feeding their babies (85.6%), newborns’ immunization schedule (74.8%), and the transition stages in newborns (73%).

Conclusions:
1. The level of parents’ knowledge of the physiology of the neonatal period was sufficient, two out of three participants answered correctly. 2. The subjects presented insufficient knowledge concerning the nursing of the newborn. Only over 1/3 of the parents knew that vitamin K is the right vitamin supplement to prevent haemorrhagic disease in newborns. 3. The parents expected nurses and midwives to educate them about breastfeeding and/or feeding, dealing with the newborns in life-threatening situations, vaccination schedule and the transition stages in neonates.