Hospital routines promote parent-infant closeness and cause separation in the birthing unit in the first 2 hours after birth: A pilot study

Facilitators and barriers of implementation of routine postnatal care guidelines for women: A systematic scoping review using critical interpretive synthesis

Background

Postnatal care (PNC) has the potential to prevent a substantial burden of maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. This scoping review aimed to identify and synthesise themes related to facilitators and barriers of implementation of guidelines on routine PNC for women (postpartum care) in all settings.

Methods

This is a scoping review guided by the standard principles of Arksey & O'Malley's framework. We used the critical interpretive synthesis method to synthesise the whole body of evidence. We searched four databases (Medline, Embase, Global Health, CINAHL Plus) using a combination of search terms comprising four key concepts: postnatal care, routine care, guidelines and implementation. No restrictions on country or language of publication were applied. We excluded studies not presenting findings about PNC for women. We thematically charted the themes of studies included based on title and abstract screening. All studies included after full text screening were described and their results synthesised using the socio-ecological model framework. We did not conduct a risk of bias analysis or quality assessment of included studies.

Results

We identified a total of 8692 unique records and included 43 studies which identified facilitators and barriers to implementing routine guidelines in provision of PNC to women. Three quarters of studies pertained to PNC provision in high-income countries. Specific facilitators and barriers were identified and thematically presented based on whether they affect the provision of PNC or the intersection between provision of PNC and its use by women and families. We applied a critical global health lens to synthesise three constructs in the literature: finding a balance between standardisation and individualisation of PNC, the fragmented PNC provision landscape complicating the experiences of women with intersecting vulnerabilities, and the heavy reliance on the short postpartum period as an opportunity to educate and retain women and newborns in the health system.

Conclusions

This interpretive synthesis of evidence shows that the fragmented and narrow nature of PNC provision presents specific challenges to developing, adapting and implementing routine PNC guidelines. This results in a lack of linkages to social support and services, fails to address intersecting vulnerabilities and inequities among women, and negatively influences care seeking. There is a lack of evidence on how processes of individualising PNC provision can be applied in practice to support health workers in providing woman-centered PNC in various global settings.

Registration

https://www.protocols.io/private/C99DA688881F11EBB4690A58A9FEAC02.

The Current Concept of Paternal Bonding: A Systematic Scoping Review

Bonding is crucial to perinatal mental health. Despite an extensive body of literature on maternal bonding, few studies have focused on paternal bonding. This scoping review aimed to clarify the current state of the concept of paternal-infant/fetus bonding. The eligibility criteria were drawn from the population concept and context elements to answer the following questions: "what is paternal bonding?" and "what are the constructs of the concept of paternal bonding?" The review comprised 39 studies. Paternal bonding was associated with both positive and negative paternal behavior and thought and may be determined based on fathers' beliefs and rearing history. Most studies showed that father-child interaction is one of the factors promoting paternal bonding. However, fathers generally felt more distant from their babies post-delivery than mothers. Only a few studies originally defined paternal bonding; most relied on the definitions of maternal bonding. We found different descriptions lacking consensus. Few studies examined the differences between paternal and maternal bonding. No consensus exists on the concept, constructs, and assessment of paternal bonding. The causal relationship between paternal bonding and other variables is unexplored. Future studies should explore fathers' perspectives and experiences, focusing on the unknown aspects of paternal bonding identified in this review.

Mothers' perceptions and experiences of skin-to-skin contact after vaginal birth in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

PROBLEM

The World Health Organization recommends immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth, however, worldwide, separation of mothers and infant is common.

BACKGROUND

In Saudi Arabia, there is a lack of research exploring mothers' experiences of skin-to-skin contact after birth.

AIM

To estimate the rate of skin-to-skin contact and describe mothers' perceptions and experiences of immediate skin-to-skin contact after vaginal birth in two largest hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study conducted in 2017. A total of 254 mothers completed the survey on the postnatal ward (92 % response rate). The survey consisted of 36 closed and open-ended items. Data were described using summary statistics and free text comments were analysed using content analysis.

RESULTS

The rate of direct skin-to-skin contact was 15%. A further 54% of mothers had the baby placed on their chest/abdomen but with a sheet/gown between them. Mothers reported favourable perceptions towards skin-to-skin contact and reported the practice as acceptable (67%). Most mothers did not express concerns about feeling exposed (85%) or that skin-to-skin contact was inconsistent with norms of modesty or culture (87%). The free text comments indicated that most mothers felt positive about their experience of skin-to-skin contact, while some mothers felt overwhelmed and unprepared.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Skin-to-skin contact was not routinely implemented after birth and the rate was low. Mothers held positive perceptions and wanted to practice skin-to-skin contact. Policy makers and clinicians should acknowledge mothers' needs and feelings by facilitating skin-to-skin contact to achieve optimal outcomes for mothers and infants.

Early maternal-newborn contact and positive birth experience

BACKGROUND

In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of the importance of early maternal-newborn contact for the health and well-being of the newborn and promotion of breastfeeding. However, little research has investigated the association between early maternal-newborn contact and the mother's birth experience.

METHODS

As part of a large-scale prospective, cohort study (the First Baby Study [FBS]), nearly 3000 women who delivered in Pennsylvania (2009-2011) reported how soon after delivery they first saw, held, and fed their newborns. Birth experience was measured via telephone interview 1 month postpartum, using the FBS Birth Experience Scale, a 16-item scale which addresses women's feelings about the delivery. General linear models were used to measure associations between time to first maternal-newborn contact and birth experience, controlling for relevant confounders, including maternal age, race/ethnicity, insurance coverage, delivery mode, gestational age, and pregnancy and delivery complications.

RESULTS

The sooner that new mothers first saw, held, and fed their newborns after delivery the more positive their childbirth experiences (all P-values < 0.001). Women who delivered by cesarean were less likely to see, hold and feed their newborns shortly after delivery than those who delivered vaginally (all P-values < 0.001), and reported less positive birth experiences (P < 0.001). However, if they first saw, held, and fed their newborns shortly after delivery, they reported more positive birth experiences than those who delivered vaginally (P = 0.010).

DISCUSSION

Early maternal-newborn contact after delivery was associated with positive birth experiences for new mothers, particularly those who delivered by cesarean.

Expressing Human Milk in the NICU: Coping Mechanisms and Challenges Shape the Complex Experience of Closeness and Separation

BACKGROUND

Human milk has multiple benefits for human health; however, rates of infants receiving human milk at discharge in Canadian neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are far below recommendations of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative supported by the Canadian Pediatric Association. Mothers of infants requiring NICU care usually need to express their milk, especially mothers of premature infants, since for some time their infant is unable to feed directly at the breast. Expressing human milk for an extended period can be challenging for mothers.

PURPOSE

To document maternal experiences expressing human milk for their infant in the NICU as a closeness or separation experience, and to discover what factors gave rise to these perceptions.

METHODS

In this descriptive qualitative cross-sectional study, 15 mothers whose infants were hospitalized in a level III NICU and who were expressing human milk audio recorded their thoughts and feelings with a smartphone application for 48 hours while they were expressing milk. A thematic content analysis was used to analyze data.

FINDINGS

Expressing human milk for their hospitalized infant was a difficult experience for all mothers, and most described both closeness and separation feelings while expressing milk. Their feelings fluctuated depending on their coping mechanisms, perceived challenges, as well as their location and environment. Mothers were all pursuing their goal of continued milk expression with various levels of motivation.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

NICUs should adopt a family-centered approach to care whereby mothers' care needs related to milk expression are addressed. Nurses can ask open-ended questions to explore how mothers are coping, and they can assist mothers to find effective coping strategies to minimize the challenges related to milk expression to promote mother-infant closeness.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH

The impact of environment and location on mothers with hospitalized infants should be explored, as unit designs could be altered to foster closeness.

Parents' Perspectives of Closeness and Separation With Their Preterm Infants in the NICU

OBJECTIVE

To discover parents' perceptions of closeness to and separation from their preterm infants in the NICU.

DESIGN

Qualitative descriptive.

SETTING

Urban Level III NICU.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty parents of preterm infants in the NICU.

METHODS

After ethics approval, data were collected with a smartphone application created for this study. Parents recorded their descriptions of moments of closeness and separation over a 24-hour period in the NICU. Data were transcribed verbatim and content was analyzed.

RESULTS

Five themes related to parents' perceptions of closeness and separation were identified: Having a role as a parent: Feeling autonomous and making decisions; Providing for and getting to know the infant: Feeding, holding, and interacting; Support from staff; Reluctantly leaving the infant's bedside; and NICU environment.

CONCLUSION

Autonomy is a key element of a parent's perception of closeness. Staff in the NICU can facilitate autonomy by involving parents in the care of their preterm infants as much as possible to reinforce the parental role. Parents described leaving their infants' bedsides as very difficult.