Experiences of mothers with preterm babies at a Mother and Baby Unit of a tertiary hospital: A descriptive phenomenological study.
Alberta Yemotsoo Lomotey, Victoria Bam, Abigail Kusi-Amponsah Diji and 3 others
PMID 31871698WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers of preterm babies in a Ghanaian mother and baby unit described fear, guilt, and joy, along with barriers to breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact, access, and information.
Key findings
01Mothers described fear of their baby dying or worsening and guilt about the early birth.
02Breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact were the main mother-baby interactions, but poor sucking, drowsiness, and pain made breastfeeding hard.
03Mothers said procedures were often announced without explanation, and fixed visiting times restricted access to their babies.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included a small purposive sample in one Ghanaian mother and baby unit, so the themes may not apply elsewhere. Mothers with critically ill babies or babies with congenital anomalies were excluded, so it does not describe the most complex cases. This is a qualitative study of experiences, not a test of whether nurse teaching, information sharing, or accommodation changes improve outcomes. The interviews were conducted in Twi and translated, so subtle meaning may have been lost. Some aspects of the mothers' experiences may have been missed because participants chose how much to share.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that nurse education, more access, or better accommodation improves maternal or infant outcomes. The study described mothers' experiences in one unit and did not test any intervention.