Women's feelings about early contact with their infants on the labour ward

to identify women's feelings after early contact with their newborn infants in the delivery room, and to identify how health professionals involved in mother and infant care behave in the intrapartum setting.

a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews and observation. Content analysis was used to derive the three themes that emerged from the interviews.

23 postpartum women and their caregivers in a public maternity hospital in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.

three thematic categories emerged from the interviews: heightened fear, severe pain and intense conflict. The professionals' actions revealed that they have theoretical and practical abilities for humanisation of care, but their actions are fragmented.

women can feel lonely, fearful and conflicted in the delivery room, and they also experience pain. Giving birth is a major event in a woman's life, so it is important to facilitate a positive experience. Health professionals were found to display interventionist and impersonal attitudes; these influenced the potential choices of women at their first contact with their infant.

the focus of health care needs to extend beyond the institution. This means fewer normative actions performed by health professionals, enabling women to enjoy their early contact with their newborn infants.