Aim: To determine the problems that midwifery and nursing students face in a neonatal care unit. Materials and methods: The study was carried out with 179 third-year students, out of 204 in a Health Sciences Faculty, Department of Midwifery and Nursing, who agreed to participate in this study. The data were collected by using a sociodemographic information form and a questionnaire form. These forms included questions on the feelings that student nurses experienced in a neonatal care for the first time and the reasons behind them. Percentage, mean, median, and chi-square tests were used to evaluate the data. Results: In this study, 88.8% of the participants were female and 45.8% of them had chosen their departments at their own will. Among them, 73.7% were excited and 38.5% were frightened to provide care to a neonate for the first time. In addition, 66.5% of nursing students were afraid of causing harm to the neonate. Moreover, 54.7% of student nurses felt that a neonate was too small to handle. Furthermore, 43.6% of the participants had the fear of dropping the neonate, while 39.7% of them had never given care to a neonate before. A statistically significant number of participants did not feel like touching while giving care to the neonate (p < 0.05). These feelings were reported by following types of participants: male midwifery and student nurses, who had chosen their departments at their own will, and student nurses who were not willing to work in neonatal care units after graduation (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that midwifery and nursing students have difficulties in handling and giving care a neonate for the first time. This is because they got excited and frightened during their neonatal practice.
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