Vulnerable mothers’ experience of feeding their preterm infant in neonatal care

Background: Worldwide, preterm birth is a rising threat to maternal and child health. The universal challenges of being the mother of a preterm infant, combined with context-specific challenges such as poverty and poor linguistic and cultural representation, bring about risks for both mother and inf...

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Autores principales:	Elanie A. van Schalkwyk, Berna Gerber
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	AOSIS 2021
Materias:	vulnerable mothers experiences feeding breastfeeding preterm infants neonatal care Oral communication. Speech P95-95.6
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/37a2a501892548978f2a7f2b42aa0543
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:37a2a501892548978f2a7f2b42aa05432021-11-24T07:47:01ZVulnerable mothers’ experience of feeding their preterm infant in neonatal care0379-80462225-476510.4102/sajcd.v68i1.842https://doaj.org/article/37a2a501892548978f2a7f2b42aa05432021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/842https://doaj.org/toc/0379-8046https://doaj.org/toc/2225-4765Background: Worldwide, preterm birth is a rising threat to maternal and child health. The universal challenges of being the mother of a preterm infant, combined with context-specific challenges such as poverty and poor linguistic and cultural representation, bring about risks for both mother and infant. This includes poor maternal mental health; poor mother–infant bonding and attachment and potential suboptimal developmental outcomes for the infant. Objective: This article describes how Afrikaans-speaking mothers living in poverty experienced feeding their preterm infants in neonatal care. Method: The study implemented a cross-sectional, qualitative design. Mothers of preterm infants (chronological ages between 3 and 6 months) were selected through a purposive sampling method and participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Nine interviews were thematically analysed. The participants were a vulnerable group, about whom little research literature was available. Results: Feeding was perceived as a progressive task that worked towards the goal of discharge from the hospital. It was stressful because of various factors, but insufficient breastmilk supply was a significant contributor. The hospital setting was perceived as something that added to the participants’ anxiety surrounding feeding, but at the same time, it had the potential to decrease their anxiety. When the mother–infant dyad was able to breastfeed successfully, it made the participants feel like mothers at last after an extended period of anticipation. Conclusion: Feeding their preterm infant was a prominent experience for the mothers, especially whilst in neonatal care. Increased feeding support is required from the healthcare team providing neonatal care in order to optimally use the neonatal period.Elanie A. van SchalkwykBerna GerberAOSISarticlevulnerable mothersexperiencesfeedingbreastfeedingpreterm infantsneonatal careOral communication. SpeechP95-95.6ENSouth African Journal of Communication Disorders, Vol 68, Iss 1, Pp e1-e9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	vulnerable mothers experiences feeding breastfeeding preterm infants neonatal care Oral communication. Speech P95-95.6
spellingShingle	vulnerable mothers experiences feeding breastfeeding preterm infants neonatal care Oral communication. Speech P95-95.6 Elanie A. van Schalkwyk Berna Gerber Vulnerable mothers’ experience of feeding their preterm infant in neonatal care
description	Background: Worldwide, preterm birth is a rising threat to maternal and child health. The universal challenges of being the mother of a preterm infant, combined with context-specific challenges such as poverty and poor linguistic and cultural representation, bring about risks for both mother and infant. This includes poor maternal mental health; poor mother–infant bonding and attachment and potential suboptimal developmental outcomes for the infant. Objective: This article describes how Afrikaans-speaking mothers living in poverty experienced feeding their preterm infants in neonatal care. Method: The study implemented a cross-sectional, qualitative design. Mothers of preterm infants (chronological ages between 3 and 6 months) were selected through a purposive sampling method and participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Nine interviews were thematically analysed. The participants were a vulnerable group, about whom little research literature was available. Results: Feeding was perceived as a progressive task that worked towards the goal of discharge from the hospital. It was stressful because of various factors, but insufficient breastmilk supply was a significant contributor. The hospital setting was perceived as something that added to the participants’ anxiety surrounding feeding, but at the same time, it had the potential to decrease their anxiety. When the mother–infant dyad was able to breastfeed successfully, it made the participants feel like mothers at last after an extended period of anticipation. Conclusion: Feeding their preterm infant was a prominent experience for the mothers, especially whilst in neonatal care. Increased feeding support is required from the healthcare team providing neonatal care in order to optimally use the neonatal period.
format	article
author	Elanie A. van Schalkwyk Berna Gerber
author_facet	Elanie A. van Schalkwyk Berna Gerber
author_sort	Elanie A. van Schalkwyk
title	Vulnerable mothers’ experience of feeding their preterm infant in neonatal care
title_short	Vulnerable mothers’ experience of feeding their preterm infant in neonatal care
title_full	Vulnerable mothers’ experience of feeding their preterm infant in neonatal care
title_fullStr	Vulnerable mothers’ experience of feeding their preterm infant in neonatal care
title_full_unstemmed	Vulnerable mothers’ experience of feeding their preterm infant in neonatal care
title_sort	vulnerable mothers’ experience of feeding their preterm infant in neonatal care
publisher	AOSIS
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/37a2a501892548978f2a7f2b42aa0543
work_keys_str_mv	AT elanieavanschalkwyk vulnerablemothersexperienceoffeedingtheirpreterminfantinneonatalcare AT bernagerber vulnerablemothersexperienceoffeedingtheirpreterminfantinneonatalcare
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Vulnerable mothers’ experience of feeding their preterm infant in neonatal care

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