Publication:

Perspectives and challenges of mothers in the care of newborns delivered in a non-profit tertiary care institution in South India: a qualitative study

Background Postnatal care is highly influenced by cultural and societal beliefs on maternal nutrition, breastfeeding and child rearing. This qualitative study was undertaken to explore the perspectives and challenges of mothers and caregivers of neonates, who presented to a hospital for an unscheduled postnatal visit, mothers who did not come for a scheduled neonatal visit, either for a special or routine visit after discharge and of mothers who came for a scheduled neonatal visit.

Methods A hospital-based qualitative study was conducted in the obstetrics and gynecology department of a large tertiary centre, with in-depth telephonic interviews of purposively selected postnatal mothers who delivered in the last quarter of 2022. A structured questionnaire with open-ended questions on neonatal care, breastfeeding, knowledge, attitude, practices and challenges of mothers during the neonatal period was pretested using pilot interviews. A total of 27 interviews were conducted to cover all the specified groups till the saturation of the content of the interviews was reached. There was representation of mothers who came for unscheduled visits, scheduled visits and those who did not come for postnatal care.

Results The major themes that emerged from the data were related to feeding of the newborn, handling illness in the baby, health and recovery of the mother during the postpartum period, support system, financial challenges, and health education at discharge.

Conclusions Implementing exclusive breastfeeding needs non-judgmental support from the mother's family and health care professionals. Healthcare teams should plan culturally sensitive communication to ensure holistic, family-centred newborn care.