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- Ekström, Anette, et al.
(author)
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Breastfeeding support from partners and grandmothers : Perceptions of Swedish women
- 2003
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In: Birth. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0730-7659 .- 1523-536X. ; 30:4, s. 261-266
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Support from the mother’s network of relatives, friends, and professional caregivers during childbirth is likely to be important for breastfeeding success. Few studies have been conducted to examine mothers’ perceptions of breastfeeding support. The objective of this study was to describe breastfeeding support and feelings of confidence of primiparas and multiparas in relation to duration of breastfeeding. Methods: Mothers whodelivered vaginally were eligible for inclusion. After receiving a questionnaire when their children were 9 to 12 months of age, 194 primiparas and 294 multiparas responded to questions onbreastfeeding history and on perceived and overall breastfeeding support and feelings of confidence. Results: Feelings of overall breastfeeding support were correlated with duration ofexclusive breastfeeding in both primiparas (p < 0.001) and multiparas (p < 0.001). Multiparas who knew how long they were breastfed as a child showed a longer duration of exclusive(p ¼ 0.006) and total (p ¼ 0.007) breastfeeding than multiparas who did not know. The time during which the partner was present after labor was correlated with the duration of exclusive(p < 0.001) and total breastfeeding (p ¼ 0.002) in primiparas. Feelings of confidence when the baby was 6 to12 months old, as retrospectively rated on a visual analog scale, was correlatedwith feelings of confidence in the partner during childbirth in both primiparas (p < 0.001) and multiparas (p < 0.001) and the experience of overall breastfeeding support (primiparas,p ¼ 0.002; multiparas, p < 0.001). Both groups were more content with breastfeeding information they received from midwives in the maternity wards, compared with that from antenatal midwives and postnatal nurses (p < 0.001). Conclusions: A helpful support strategy for mothers with respect to breastfeeding outcome is for health professionals to discuss the grandmother’s perception of breastfeeding with the mother. It is important for perinatalcaregivers to provide an environment that enables the family to stay together after delivery. A helpful support strategy for health professionals might be to mobilize grandmothers with positive breastfeeding perception to provide support for their daughters’ breastfeeding. (BIRTH 30:4 December 2003)
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| 2. |
- Avelin, Pernilla, et al.
(author)
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Swedish parents' experiences of parenthood and the need for support to siblings when a baby is stillborn
- 2011
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In: Birth. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0730-7659 .- 1523-536X. ; 38:2, s. 150-8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: It has been argued that having a stillborn baby in the family affects older siblings more than parents realize. The aim of this study was to describe parenthood and the needs of siblings after stillbirth from the parents' perspective.METHODS: Six focus groups were held with 27 parents who had experienced a stillbirth and who had had children before the loss. The discussion concerned parents' support to the siblings, and the sibling's meeting, farewell, and memories of their little sister or brother. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.RESULTS: The overall theme of the findings was parenthood in a balance between grief and everyday life. In the analysis, three categories emerged that described the construction of the theme: support in an acute situation, sharing the experiences within the family, and adjusting to the situation.CONCLUSIONS: The siblings' situation is characterized by having a parent who tries to maintain a balance between grief and everyday life. Parents are present and engaged in joint activities around the stillbirth together with the siblings of the stillborn baby. Although parents are aware of the sibling's situation, they feel that they are left somewhat alone in their parenthood after stillbirth and therefore need support and guidance from others.
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| 5. |
- Bystrova, Ksenia, et al.
(author)
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Early Contact versus Separation : Effects on Mother-Infant Interaction One Year Later
- 2009
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In: Birth. - 0730-7659 .- 1523-536X. ; 36:2, s. 97-109
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: A tradition of separation of the mother and baby after birth still persists in many parts of the world, including some parts of Russia, and often is combined with swaddling of the baby. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare possible long-term effects on mother-infant interaction of practices used in the delivery and maternity wards, including practices relating to mother-infant closeness versus separation. Methods: A total of 176 mother-infant pairs were randomized into four experimental groups: Group I infants were placed skin-to-skin with their mothers after birth, and had rooming-in while in the maternity ward. Group II infants were dressed and placed in their mothers' arms after birth, and roomed-in with their mothers in the maternity ward. Group III infants were kept in the nursery both after birth and while their mothers were in the maternity ward. Group IV infants were kept in the nursery after birth, but roomed-in with their mothers in the maternity ward. Equal numbers of infants were either swaddled or dressed in baby clothes. Episodes of early suckling in the delivery ward were noted. The mother-infant interaction was videotaped according to the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment (PCERA) 1 year after birth. Results: The practice of skin-to-skin contact, early suckling, or both during the first 2 hours after birth when compared with separation between the mothers and their infants positively affected the PCERA variables maternal sensitivity, infant's self-regulation, and dyadic mutuality and reciprocity at 1 year after birth. The negative effect of a 2-hour separation after birth was not compensated for by the practice of rooming-in. These findings support the presence of a period after birth (the early ""sensitive period"") during which close contact between mother and infant may induce long-term positive effect on mother-infant interaction. In addition, swaddling of the infant was found to decrease the mother's responsiveness to the infant, her ability for positive affective involvement with the infant, and the mutuality and reciprocity in the dyad. Conclusions: Skin-to-skin contact, for 25 to 120 minutes after birth, early suckling, or both positively influenced mother-infant interaction 1 year later when compared with routines involving separation of mother and infant.
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| 6. |
- Bystrova, Ksenia, et al.
(author)
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Maternal axillar and breast temperature after giving birth : Effects of delivery ward practices and relation to infant temperature
- 2007
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In: Birth. - 0730-7659 .- 1523-536X. ; 34:4, s. 291-300
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Little is known about the development and control of skin temperature in human mothers after birth. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of delivery ward practices and early suckling on maternal axillar and breast temperatures during the first 2 hours postpartum and to relate them to the infant's foot and axillar temperatures. Methods: Three groups of 176 mother-infant pairs were randomized as follows-group I: infants lying prone in skin-to-skin contact on their mother's chest, named the ""skin-to-skin group"" (n = 44), group II: infants who were dressed and lying prone on their mother's chest, named the ""mother's arms group"" (n = 44), and group III: infants who were dressed and kept in the nursery, named the ""nursery group"" (n = 88). Maternal axillar and breast temperatures and infants' axillar and foot temperatures were measured at 15-minute intervals from 30 to 120 minutes after birth. Episodes of early suckling were noted. Results: The axillar and breast temperatures rose significantly in all mothers. The rise of temperature over time was significantly higher in multiparas than in primiparas but was influenced only slightly by group assignment. The variation in breast temperature was highest in mothers in the skin-to-skin group and lowest in mothers in the nursery group. In the mother's arms group, variation in breast temperature was larger in those mothers exposed to early suckling than in those not exposed. A positive relationship was found between the maternal axillar temperature and the infant foot and axillar temperature 90 minutes after the start of the experiment (120 min after birth) in the skin-to-skin and mother's arms groups. The rise in temperature in the infant's foot was nearly twice that in the axilla. No such relationship was established in the nursery group. In addition, foot temperature in infants from the skin-to-skin group was nearly 2 degrees C higher than that in infants from the mother's arms group. Conclusions: Maternal temperature rose after birth, and the rise was higher in multiparas than in primiparas. Skin-to-skin contact and early suckling increased temperature variation. Maternal temperature was related to infant foot and axillar temperatures.
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| 7. |
- Cacciatore, Joanne, et al.
(author)
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Effects of contact with stillborn babies on maternal anxiety and depression
- 2008
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In: Birth. - 0730-7659 .- 1523-536X. ; 35:4, s. 313-320
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Some guidelines encourage mothers to see and hold their babies after stillbirth, which might be traumatizing. The study objective was to investigate the effects of women seeing and holding their stillborn baby on the risk of anxiety and depression in a subsequent pregnancy and in the long term. METHODS: Thirty-seven organizations recruited women who had experienced stillbirth (N = 2,292 of whom 286 reported being pregnant). Anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed by using the 25-item Hopkins Symptom Check List. RESULTS: Among nonpregnant women, seeing and holding their stillborn baby were associated with lower anxiety symptoms (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.49-0.95) and a tendency toward fewer symptoms of depression (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.51-1.02), compared with pregnant women. Participants who were pregnant also had less depressive symptomatology (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.43-0.75), but more symptoms of anxiety if they had seen and held their baby (OR 3.79, 95% CI 1.42-10.1). CONCLUSIONS: Seeing and holding the baby are associated with fewer anxiety and depressive symptoms among mothers of stillborn babies than not doing so, although this beneficial effect may be temporarily reversed during a subsequent pregnancy.
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| 8. |
- Ekström, Anette, et al.
(author)
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Does Continuity of Care by Well-Trained Breastfeeding Counselors Improve a Mother´s Perception of Support?
- 2006
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In: Birth. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0730-7659 .- 1523-536X. ; 33:2, s. 123-130
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background:Social support has been shown to be greatly important for breastfeeding success. The objective of this study was to investigate if mothers who were attended by midwives and nurses specially trained in breastfeeding counseling perceived better continuity of care and emotional and informative breastfeeding support than mothers who received only routine care. Method:Ten municipalities, each with an antenatal center and child health center, in southwest Sweden were randomized either to intervention or control municipalities. The intervention included a process-oriented training in breastfeeding counseling and continuity of care at the antenatal and child health centers. Primiparas were asked to evaluate the care given, and those living in the control municipalities were divided into control groups A and B. Data collection took place at different points in time for the two control groups. The 540 mothers responded to 3 questionnaires at 3 days and at 3 and 9 months postpartum. The perception of support provided by the health professionals and from the family classes was rated on Likert scales. Results:Intervention group mothers rated the breastfeeding information given during the family class as significantly better during pregnancy than both control groups, and better than control group B mothers at 3 months postpartum; compared with both control groups, intervention group mothers perceived that they received significantly better overall support and that postnatal nurses provided better information about breastfeeding and the baby's needs. At 9 months, intervention group mothers were more satisfied with knowledge about social rights, information about the baby's needs, and their social network than control group B mothers. Both intervention group and control group B mothers perceived better overall support than control group A during pregnancy. At 3 and 9 months, intervention group mothers perceived that postnatal nurses were more sensitive and understanding compared with both control groups. Conclusions:After implementation of a process-oriented breastfeeding training program for antenatal midwives and postnatal nurses that included an intervention guaranteeing continuity of care, the mothers were more satisfied with emotional and informative support during the first 9 months postpartum. The results lend support to family classes incorporating continuity of care. (BIRTH 33:2 June 2006)
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| 9. |
- Erlandsson, Kerstin, et al.
(author)
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Skin-to-skin care with the father after cesarean birth and its effect on newborn crying and prefeeding behavior.
- 2007
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In: Birth. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0730-7659 .- 1523-536X. ; 34:2, s. 105-14
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Previous reports have shown that skin-to-skin care immediately after vaginal birth is the optimal form of care for full-term, healthy infants. Even in cases when the mother is awake and using spinal analgesia, early skin-to-skin contact between her and her newborn directly after cesarean birth might be limited for practical and medical safety reasons. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of skin-to-skin contact on crying and prefeeding behavior in healthy, full-term infants born by elective cesarean birth and cared for skin-to-skin with their fathers versus conventional care in a cot during the first 2 hours after birth. METHODS: Twenty-nine father-infant pairs participated in a randomized controlled trial, in which infants were randomized to be either skin-to-skin with their father or next to the father in a cot. Data were collected both by tape-recording crying time for the infants and by naturalistic observations of the infants' behavioral response, scored every 15 minutes based on the scoring criteria described in the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS). RESULTS: The primary finding was the positive impact the fathers' skin-to-skin contact had on the infants' crying behavior. The analysis of the tape recordings of infant crying demonstrated that infants in the skin-to-skin group cried less than the infants in the cot group (p<0.001). The crying of infants in the skin-to-skin group decreased within 15 minutes of being placed skin-to-skin with the father. Analysis of the NBAS-based observation data showed that being cared for on the father's chest skin-to-skin also had an impact on infant wakefulness. These infants became drowsy within 60 minutes after birth, whereas infants cared for in a cot reached the same stage after 110 minutes. Rooting activity was more frequent in the cot group than in the skin-to-skin group (p<0.01), as were sucking activities (p<=0.001) and overall duration of wakefulness (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The infants in the skin-to-skin group were comforted, that is, they stopped crying, became calmer, and reached a drowsy state earlier than the infants in the cot group. The father can facilitate the development of the infant's prefeeding behavior in this important period of the newborn infant's life and should thus be regarded as the primary caregiver for the infant during the separation of mother and baby.
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