Objective: To understand the concept of humane neonatal care in view of the nursing staff. Method: this is a qualitative study that used for data collection to semi-structured interviews with 23 members of nursing staff in a NICU of a university hospital in the city of Curitiba in the first half of 2010. Results: Four categories were obtained through content analysis. Conclusion: it was noted that professionals recognize the importance of the presence of parents with newborns, providing humane care of the nursing staff to the newborn