Kangaroo Care in a Neonatal Context: Parents’ Experiences of Information and Communication of Nurse-Parents

Abstract

Objective: Kangaroo Care (KC) is an evidence-based nursing practice with many benefits for infants and parents. The purpose of this study was to describe parents’ experience of information and communication mediated by staff nurses before and during KC at neonatal wards. Methodology and Participants: A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was performed. The sample consisted of 20 parents.Results: The results show that the information and communication were experienced as both optimal and suboptimal including following categories: initially conflicting emotions in relation to KC, participation and confidence in KC is evolving, strengthening preparation and context is decisive as well as parental sense and caution. The overall theme was that good preparation will contribute to a positive experience of KC. Conclusion: The conclusion is that most of the parents had positive experiences of KC. The information and communication from the staff nurses encouraged and motivated the parents to practice KC, in a sense that it was a natural way to get to know the infant, when the staff nurses were well versed in the method and coherent and supportive. Conflicting emotions emerged when staff nurses practised KC as a routine without deeper knowledge and skills of the method and its advantages as well as without sensitivity to parents’ vulnerable situation.

Assessing clinicians' knowledge and confidence to perform kangaroo care and positive touch in a tertiary neonatal unit in England using the Neonatal Unit Clinician Assessment Tool (NUCAT)

“…Clinicians interviewed in this study described the central role that these practices play in both improving the bonding between parent and child but also encouraging good relations with clinicians. It is recognised that parents within this healthcare setting find themselves in a position of vulnerability and not always confident in directing what they may believe to be the best care for their baby (Renfrew et al, 2010;Lemmen et al, 2013), as a result it is even more important that the neonatal clinician acts as an advocate to both provide comprehensive evidence--based information for the practices, and practical support for their implementation through engendering confidence in the JNN 07.07.14 V 7 15 parents. A study undertaken in three hospitals in southern Sweden describes how parents believed they would have demanded to provide KC more regularly if they had been better informed of the evidence base to support it (Lemmen et al 2013).…”

“…It is recognised that parents within this healthcare setting find themselves in a position of vulnerability and not always confident in directing what they may believe to be the best care for their baby (Renfrew et al, 2010;Lemmen et al, 2013), as a result it is even more important that the neonatal clinician acts as an advocate to both provide comprehensive evidence--based information for the practices, and practical support for their implementation through engendering confidence in the JNN 07.07.14 V 7 15 parents. A study undertaken in three hospitals in southern Sweden describes how parents believed they would have demanded to provide KC more regularly if they had been better informed of the evidence base to support it (Lemmen et al 2013). The UK charities BLISS and Best Beginnings provide information to support parents of NICU babies and have collaboratively introduced KC stickers which are placed on a chart as a visual method of both prompting clinicians to offer and encourage parents to ask for KC and also keep track of which babies have received KC, but this intervention has not yet been evaluated.…”

Kangaroo Care: Experiences and Needs of Parents in Neonatal Intensive Care: A Systematic Review ‘Parents’ Experience of Kangaroo Care’

“…While performing KC, the infant is put on the bare chest of the parent in a prone position and covered with cloths, allowing intense skin-to-skin contact. This meets the infants and parents needs for warmth, love and contact [14][15][16]. Research has shown positive results of KC physically and mentally, for both infants [17][18][19][20] and parents [16,[21][22][23]].…”

“…An ambivalence involving a yearning to have their infant close as well as a fear of hurting the infant [9,10,16]. This ambivalence can work as a barrier for performing KC, as well as several other factors like technical equipment, privacy and support [7,24,25].…”

“…This ambivalence can work as a barrier for performing KC, as well as several other factors like technical equipment, privacy and support [7,24,25]. NICU health care workers, especially nurses, have an important role in anticipating on and the elimination of those barriers and the stimulation of the performance of KC [12,16,24]. To do this, nurses need to have insight in these barriers and in the experiences and needs of parents with respect to KC so that they can involve this insight in daily care.…”