MCur / Department of Advanced Nursing Science / Introduction: During the provision of care to preterm babies, midwives encounter many problems and challenges which may vary according to the gestational age of the women, condition of the foetus, availability of equipment and resources, and experience of the midwives. In addition, poor working conditions, feelings of insecurity, staff shortage, and lack of support from the management and having to deal with parents who do not comply with the hospital management plan for their babies; all contribute to the problems faced by midwives. The purpose of this study was to determine challenges encountered by midwives when providing care to preterm neonates at selected hospitals in the Mopani District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Methods: Qualitative research in this study was conducted in a natural setting at the selected hospitals. The target population was the midwives who have been working in maternity wards for at least two years and were on duty during the period of data collection. Non-random purposive sampling was used to select the participants. Data were collected using unstructured interviews, which were tape recorded and transcribed. The six steps as described by Creswell were used for data analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by using the model of Lincoln & Guba that included credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability. Ethical principles, namely, permission to conduct the study, informed consent from participants, privacy, confidentiality, autonomy, anonymity and respect were observed. Results: When midwives provide care to preterm babies they often encounter multiple challenges which can be human or material resource related. In his study, midwives were found to perform their duties in the face of multiple challenges, including staff vi shortages, which resulted in exhaustion of the available midwives. Nursing a preterm baby is a challenge on its own as these babies are likely to develop clinical problems related to immaturity, e.g., hypoglycaemia, hypothermia, jaundice, sepsis and respiratory distress. Mothers may be traumatised and find it difficult to accept their babies as they are, this leads to lack of cooperation in the care of the neonate and it becomes a problem for the midwives who are directly providing such care. The aforementioned challenges are related to all the four major concepts of human caring as described by Jean Watson which are health, human being, nursing and environment. Recommendations: It is recommended that further research be conducted on the same topic, but in a different setting to generate more knowledge. Policy makers should work together with health care professionals who are directly involved in the care of preterm babies to improve the practice of the contents in the policies. / NRF

Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is an evidence-based intervention, recommended by the World Health Organization, with the potential to prevent neonatal deaths and morbidity among low-birthweight and preterm babies. In Bangladesh, where the number of neonatal deaths is high, KMC is identified as a priority intervention to be scaled up in the country. Our aim was to explore the experiences of caregivers and healthcare providers (HCPs) of KMC in Bangladesh. We conducted semi-structured interviews in two hospitals in Dhaka, where KCM service was provided. In Study I, we interviewed fifteen caregivers. The results showed conducive conditions for caregivers to perform KMC at the hospital and at home, but support is needed from both healthcare providers and their families. Caregivers felt empowered and motivated when they observed improvements in the child's well-being. However, there are challenges to KMC implementation due to the struggle to keep the baby skin-to-skin, pain after caesarean section, delayed initiation of KMC, and routines that promote an initial separation between the mother and baby. In Study II, we interviewed eleven HCPs. The results showed that HCPs experienced KMC as a continuous process that requires both support and counselling, adapted to caregivers’ needs. Commitment, supervision, and training are necessary. However, there are structural conditions that challenge KMC implementation, including clinical routines that promote the initial separation of the mother and baby, staff shortages, and incomplete follow-up. In conclusion, the findings from this exploratory research can inform the design of interventions for scaling up KMC in Bangladesh. Caregivers' and HCPs' experiences show that continuous support, counselling, and family involvement are essential in the care, and that providing KMC empowers caregivers. Their experiences also indicate that KMC is sub-optimally implemented due to structural conditions and routines that need to be addressed to scale up KMC in the country by avoiding the initial separation of mother and baby, meeting the mothers' needs for care and support, and strengthening the follow-up. Our results also suggest a need to update clinical practices in line with the new WHO recommendations. / <p></p><p></p><p></p>