Browsing by Author "Van Schalkwyk, Elanie Antoinette"

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    Mothers’ experience of feeding their preterm infant during the first months of life within a vulnerable population in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Van Schalkwyk, Elanie Antoinette; Gerber, Berna; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences. Speech Language and Hearing Therapy.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: Preterm birth is a rising and significant threat to maternal and child health globally. Being the mother of a preterm infant is universally described as a challenging and stressful experience. Mothers of preterm infants with low socio-economic status and from linguistic minority groups, such as poor Afrikaans speaking mothers, face additional challenges that may influence their experience of caring for their preterm infant, namely poverty and limited linguistic and cultural representation within the health constitution. The universal challenges of being a mother of a preterm infant, combined with the more specific challenges of living in poverty and experiencing 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 child. Research aims: The main aim was to describe and explain how Afrikaans-speaking mothers, living in low socio-economic circumstances in the Western Cape, experienced caring for their preterm infant in the first months of life. The outcomes may facilitate better understanding of the early communication and feeding intervention needs of mothers of at-risk neonates from culturally and linguistically diverse contexts living in poverty. Method: The study entailed a cross-sectional, qualitative design which was exploratory and descriptive in nature. Eleven participants, selected through a purposive sampling method, participated in individual in-depth interviews where a semi-structured discussion schedule was implemented. Nine interviews were then thematically analysed. Participants were Afrikaans-speaking mothers with low socio-economic status who brought their preterm infant (chronological age range of three to six months) for a follow-up appointment at a High-risk Clinic at a public tertiary hospital in Cape Town. The participants were a vulnerable group about whom little information was available in the research literature. Findings: The task of feeding their preterm infant during the hospitalisation period was a significant experience for the participants. Feeding was perceived as a progressive task that is goal-driven and continuously demands a new method of feeding, higher volumes of milk, and increased weight gain in the infant to reach the eventual goal of discharge from hospital. This task was perceived as stressful due to various factors of which insufficient breastmilk supply was a significant contributor. Furthermore, the hospital setting was perceived as something that added to their anxiety surrounding feeding, but simultaneously had the potential to decrease their anxiety. The mothers felt that over time and with experience both they and their infants gradually became more comfortable and skilled in the task of feeding. When the mother-infant dyad was able to breastfeed successfully it was described as an ‘amazing experience’ and one that made the participants feel like mothers at last. Conclusion: The participants experienced feeding as one of the most significant stressors related to caring for their infant, especially in the first months of life while the infant was hospitalised. Various factors were identified that had positive and/or negative influences on this experience. The study findings have implications with regard to future research, as well as education and clinical practice for all healthcare professionals working with preterm mother-infant dyads from culturally and linguistically diverse contexts living in poverty.