Fathers' experiences of feeding their extremely preterm infants in family-centred neonatal intensive care: a
Evalotte Mӧrelius1,2, Sofia Brogren3, Sandra Andersson4
1School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia. e.morelius@ecu.edu.au.
Insights
Fathers actively participate in feeding extremely preterm infants, sharing responsibilities with mothers. They desire greater involvement and collaboration with staff to support infant feeding, especially when breastfeeding is challenging.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Intensive Care
- Paternal Involvement in Infant Care
- Preterm Infant Feeding
Background:
- Extremely preterm infants require intensive care, often remaining hospitalized until their expected due date.
- Family-centered neonatal intensive care units involve parents in all aspects of infant care, including feeding.
- Research on fathers' experiences in neonatal intensive care, particularly regarding infant feeding, is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the experiences of fathers involved in feeding extremely preterm infants within a neonatal intensive care unit setting.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative inductive study using telephone interviews with seven fathers of extremely preterm infants (24-27 weeks gestation).
- Interviews conducted post-discharge between 2013-2014.
- Data analyzed using qualitative content analysis and confirmed by triangulation in 2021.
Main Results:
- Fathers viewed themselves as integral members of the "feeding team," sharing responsibilities and providing support to mothers.
- Fathers experienced distress when mothers struggled with low breast milk production and unsuccessful breastfeeding.
- Fathers desired deeper involvement in infant care, including feeding, and sought collaborative relationships with healthcare staff.
Conclusions:
- Fathers are eager to be involved in the demanding feeding processes of extremely preterm infants.
- Collaboration between fathers and healthcare staff is crucial for optimal maternal and infant support during feeding.
- Findings suggest a need for hospital staff to recognize and facilitate greater paternal engagement in the oral feeding of extremely preterm infants.
Background:
Extremely preterm infants need advanced intensive care for survival and are usually not discharged before they reach the time of expected birth. In a family-centred neonatal intensive care unit both parents are involved at all levels of care including the feeding process. However, studies focusing on fathers in this situation are scarce. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of feeding extremely preterm infants in a neonatal intensive care unit from fathers' perspectives.
Methods:
The study adopts a qualitative inductive method, reported according to the COREQ checklist. Seven fathers of extremely preterm infants (gestational age 24-27 weeks) in neonatal intensive care in Sweden were interviewed by telephone after discharge in 2013-2014. The interviews were analysed using a qualitative content analysis and confirmed by triangulation in 2021.
Results:
Six sub-categories and two generic categories formed the main category: "a team striving towards the same goal". The fathers were equally involved and engaged members of the feeding team all hours of the day. The fathers shared responsibility and practical duties with the mothers, and they provided as much support to the mothers as they could. However, the fathers found it difficult to support and encourage the mothers to breastfeed and express breastmilk when the breastmilk production was low. The fathers experienced a loss when breastfeeding was not successful.
Conclusions:
The findings indicate that fathers want to be involved with infant care, including night-time feeds, and long and demanding feeding processes. Fathers and staff need to collaborate to provide the best support to mothers during the feeding process. This study may inspire hospital staff to acknowledge and support fathers to become more involved in the oral feeding process when an infant is born extremely preterm.
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