Parental Educational Needs During the NICU Stay: Mothers’ Perspectives

TL;DR

Mothers of preterm infants in NICUs highlight the need for education on infant care, health, and post-discharge preparation, delivered through visual and interactive methods.

Contribution

The study identifies specific educational needs and preferred delivery methods for NICU parents in a South African context.

Findings

Mothers emphasized the need for education on basic infant care, health/behaviour, and post-discharge preparation.

Preferred programme features included visual materials, demonstrations, group discussions, and knowledgeable facilitators.

Participants highlighted the importance of addressing psychological and practical support needs alongside education.

Abstract

What are the main findings?
Mothers identified key educational needs regarding basic infant care, infant health/behaviour, and post-discharge preparation.Preferred programme features included visual materials, verbal instruction with demonstrations, group discussions, and consistent, knowledgeable facilitators.

Mothers identified key educational needs regarding basic infant care, infant health/behaviour, and post-discharge preparation.

Preferred programme features included visual materials, verbal instruction with demonstrations, group discussions, and consistent, knowledgeable facilitators.

What are the implications of the main findings?
Parent education programmes should be context-specific and aligned with mothers’ real-time NICU experiences.Addressing psychological, communication, and practical support needs is essential for parents to fully engage in and benefit from education.

Parent education programmes should be context-specific and aligned with mothers’ real-time NICU experiences.

Addressing psychological, communication, and practical support needs is essential for parents to fully engage in and benefit from education.

Background: Parents caring for preterm infants during hospital admission have unique needs. How these are addressed plays an important role in parents’ ability to cope with caregiving responsibilities. Educational programmes have proven beneficial to parents during their infant’s stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), for both parental and neonatal outcomes. Key components of parenting education during the NICU stay have been described; however, less is known about our understanding of parents’ educational needs, specifically in the South African context. Objectives: To explore parental needs and perceptions regarding a parenting education intervention provided to them while in the NICU, with a focus on programme content, structure, and mode of delivery. Methods: Three focus group discussions were conducted with mothers of preterm infants admitted to the NICU of a referral hospital in the North West province, South Africa. Inclusion criteria comprised parents of infants born in the hospital, singletons or multiples, with a gestational age below 37 weeks, and expected to stay in the NICU for at least 7 days. Discussions centred on mothers’ perceived needs regarding parenting education based on their experiences during their baby’s NICU admission. Results: Twenty-five mothers of singletons or multiples born before 37 weeks of gestation participated in the study. Three main themes were identified: (1) preference for content topics to include basic infant care, infant health and behaviours, and post-discharge related information; (2) education programme structure, which included instructional approaches and training logistics; and (3) support needs, including intrapersonal motivators, communication, and psychosocial and physical support. Conclusions: Participants recognised educational content needs that align with existing literature. However, they also emphasised the importance of addressing basic physical and emotional needs while receiving educational content, ensuring that parents feel empowered and capable of engaging with the information.

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