Barriers and enablers experienced by mothers involved in the Neonatal Intensive Care of their babies with gastroschisis

Abstract

Background Giving birth to a high-risk or critically ill baby who is admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for special care, portends maternal distress, anxiety, depression, and feelings of ambivalence and shame. Upon admission of the baby to the NICU, the mother is unprepared, not only to confront the demands of the critical care environment but also to assume her role as a primary caregiver. Evidence points out the importance of parents being present in the NICU at the bedside of their baby or involved in the care of their baby, but the physical NICU environment, policies and rules in the NICU, and bedside manner of staff are some of the factors that mothers faced when taking care for their babies with gastroschisis and admitted to the NICU. These factors that the mothers’ experience may become barriers that impact the involvement of the mothers in care activities and may result in the development of maternal stress and affect the long-term developmental outcomes of the babies. Little is known about barriers and enablers experienced by mothers when caring for their babies with gastroschisis in the NICU.

Aim This study aimed to explore and describe barriers and enablers experienced by mothers involved in the neonatal intensive care of their babies with gastroschisis.

Design The research design proposed for this study was qualitative, following an explorative and descriptive design.

Methods Qualitative data were collected through conducting 11 individual, semi-structured face-to-face interviews to explore the experiences of mothers to describe the barriers and enablers they encounter when involved in the neonatal intensive care of their babies with gastroschisis. The population included mothers of babies with gastroschisis admitted to the NICU. Interviews were conducted a few days after the admission of these babies. Convenience sampling, also known as availability sampling, was used to select 11 mothers to participate, as these mothers were readily available as participants for the study. Data were analysed using content analysis as described by Yin (2016:186)