Research Project: Breastfeeding/feeding and relationality – an ethnographic study of mothers of preterm infants at neonatal units in Sweden and England
Fiona Dykes, School of Public Health and Clinical Sciences University of Central Lancashire
Project Period
-
Project Status
Completed
Description
Background
As breast milk is highly beneficial for preterm infants, the research and neonatal care focus on infants’ intake of breast milk and the transition from gavage feeding to breastfeeding, but has shown to disregard relational aspects.
Aim
To explore in-depth the breastfeeding/feeding process in mothers of preterm infants at neonatal units in Sweden and England, with a special focus on relationality.
Method
In-depth ethnography has been conducted in 4 neonatal units in Sweden and in the Northwest of England. The ethnographic has involved 11 months of participant observation of activities on the neonatal units, with particular reference to interaction between unit staff, mothers and their infants. The observations was supplemented by interviews, with staff, fathers and mothers, following observation. 300 hours of observations and interviews were made and the study included 51 mothers, 19 fathers and 130 staff members. Thematic analyses will be used.
Clinical importance
An in-depth knowledge and insight into the influence of culture (i.e. macro and micro, explicit and tacit) on the process of breastfeeding/feeding, will be generated. These findings will, in turn, generate stronger hypotheses on how to make improvements in neonatal care. Such improvements may hence not only result in a more pleasurable breastfeeding for mothers and their infants but also enhance their means to sustain breastfeeding for a longer period.
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