The brain requires a continuous supply of oxygen and even a short period ofreduced oxygen supply risks severe and lifelong consequences for theaffected individual. The delivery is a vulnerable period for a baby who mayexperience for example hypoxia (lack of oxygen) that can damage the brain.Babies who experience problems are placed in an intensive care unit wheretheir vital signs are monitored, but there is no reliable way to monitor thebrain directly. Monitoring the brain would provide valuable informationabout the processes going on in it and could influence the treatment and helpto improve the quality of neonatal care. The scope of this project is todevelop methods that eventually can be put together to form a monitoringsystem for the brain that can function as decision-support for the physician incharge of treating the patient.The specific technical problem that is the topic of this thesis is detection ofburst and suppression in the electroencephalogram (EEG) signal. The thesisstarts with a brief description of the brain, with a focus on where the EEGoriginates, what types of activity can be found in this signal and what theymean. The data that have been available for the project are described,followed by the signal processing methods that have been used for preprocessing,and the feature functions that can be used for extracting certaintypes of characteristics from the data are defined. The next section describesclassification methodology and how it can be used for making decisionsbased on combinations of several features extracted from a signal. Theclassification methods Fisher’s Linear Discriminant, Neural Networks andSupport Vector Machines are described and are finally compared with respectto their ability to discriminate between burst and suppression. An experimentwith different combinations of features in the classification has also beencarried out. The results show similar results for the three methods but it canbe seen that the SVM is the best method with respect to handling multiplefeatures.

The experiences of fathers in a neonatal unit are poorly understood. The research upon which this thesis is based sought to address some of the gaps in the existing neonatal nursing understanding of fathers' experiences. In this thesis, I adopt a critical-subtle realist viewpoint using an auto/biographical ethnographic research perspective utilising mixed-methods of data collection. I apply ideas about emotion management and specifically Hochschild's concept of 4 emotion work' to inform my analysis. Thematic analysis of the data - fieldnotes, interview transcripts and completed questionnaires was undertaken This revealed a number of major thematic areas and a number of sub-themes. These major themes are, 'men's emotion work', 'being and doing', ' tensions and control,' and 'the environment of care'. The researcher revealed some of the significant tensions and causes of anxiety for men as they seek to reconcile the demands and expectations of fatherhood in a neonatal unit. These men faced a situation where they were attempting to find a balance between 'what they wanted to feel' and 'what they thought others wanted them to feel'. Feelings of being judged by others and judging others feature within the data. There is clear evidence that neonatal unit staff and mothers alike recognised the significance of fathers' perspectives and the importance of their involvement in families. Both mothers and staff made interconnected and coordinated efforts to include fathers in infant care activities and decision-making in the neonatal unit. Most of the men who took part in this study reported positive experiences of relating to health care staff and of their time on the neonatal unit. Analysis suggests that the concept of emotion work can contribute to an exploration of fathers' experiences. However, the concept's extensive reference to the externalities of emotion tends to underplay the amount of emotion work carried out by less expressive individuals; this 'silente motion work' has characterised the men in this study. This research aims to contribute to cross-disciplinary understanding of the experience of fatherhood. In particular, by drawing on the sociology of emotion and sociological analysis of families it adds to the body of nursing research in neonatology, I make a number of recommendations for developing neonatl health care practice and some suggestions for further research in this area.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

MSc, Occupational Therapy, Faculty of the Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand / This study investigated the sensory processing of premature infants between 7-12 months of age at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital using the standardised Infant/Toddler Sensory Profile. The design of research that was primarily utilised in this study was quantitative, cross sectional, descriptive research. Results indicated that 50% of all the premature infants were found to be low threshold infants, and tended to be over responsive to auditory, visual and tactile sensory stimuli. The Sensory Profiles of infants who underwent different methods of neonatal care including kangaroo mother care (KMC), where mothers were involved in a fulltime twenty-four hour KMC programme, and those who received mainly conventional care (CC) were compared. The only score that differed significantly between infants receiving different types of care was tactile processing, with the CC infants having more typical tactile processing scores. These findings were contrary to other KMC research, which may have been affected by the reliability of using this measure with this study sample and the small sample size of infants who received CC.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Introduction: Studies have shown that having a preterm infant may cause stress and powerlessness for parents. It is important to support parents around the feeding situation, and that the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has appropriate space and place to help the family to bond to each other. For the healthcare professionals it is important to promote skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding; particularly for preterm infants. There are many studies on parent’s experiences of NICUs and a few studies on parent’s experiences of feeding their infant in the NICU. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore parents experiences of feeding their infant in the NICU. Design: The study was conducted using an ethnographic design. Results: A global theme of ‘The journey in feeding’ was developed from four organising themes: ‘Ways of infant feeding’; ‘Environmental influences’; ‘Relationships’ and ‘Emotional factors’. These themes illustrate the challenges mothers reported with different methods of feeding. The environment had a big impact on parent’s experiences of infant feeding. Some mothers felt that breastfeeding seemed unnatural because their infant was so tiny but breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact helped them to bond to their infant. The mothers thought it was difficult to keep up with the milk production by only pumping. Routines were not inviting parents to find their own rhythm. They also felt stressed about the weighing. Healthcare professionals had positive and negative influences on the parents. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that while all parents expressed the wish to breastfeed, their ‘journey in feeding’ was highly influenced by method of feeding, environmental, relational and emotional factors. The general focus upon routines and assessing milk intake generated anxiety and reduced relationality. Midwives and neonatal nurses need to ensure that they emphasise and support the relational aspects of parenting and avoid over-emphasising milk intake and associated progress of the infant / Introduktion: Studier har visat att få ett prematurt barn kan orsaka stress och maktlöshet hos föräldrar. Det är viktigt att stödja föräldrarna runt matsituationen av barnet och att neonatalavdelningen har tillräckligt med plats för att hjälpa familjerna att knyta an till varandra. För sjukvårdspersonalen är det viktigt att främja hud-mot-hud och amning, särskilt för tidigt födda spädbarn. Det finns många studier om föräldrars upplevelser om neonatalavdelningar men få studier om föräldrars upplevelser av att mata sitt barn på neonatalavdelning. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka upplevelserna föräldrar hade av att mata sina barn på neonatalavdelning. Design: Studien genomfördes med en etnografisk metod. Resultat: Ett globalt tema av ’Matresan’ utvecklades från fyra olika organisationsteman: ’Olika sätt att mata barnet’, ’Miljöns påverkan’, ’Relationer’ och ’Känslomässiga faktorer’. Dessa teman visar på de olika utmaningar föräldrarna upplevde vid de olika matsituationerna av barnet. Miljön hade en stor inverkan på föräldrarnas upplevelser av matsituationerna hos barnen. En del mammor upplevde amning som onaturligt eftersom deras barn var så små men att amning och hud-mot-hud hjälpte dem att knyta an till deras barn. Mammorna tyckte att det var svårt att hålla igång mjölkproduktionen genom att endast pumpa. Rutinerna på avdelningen hjälpte inte föräldrarna att hitta sin egen rytm. De kände sig även stressade av att väga barnet. Sjukvårdspersonalen hade både positiv och negativ inverkan på föräldrarna. Slutsats: Den här studien visar att trots att alla föräldrar önskade att amma så påverkades matresan av val av mat-metod, miljön, relations- och känslomässiga faktorer. Det generella fokuset på rutiner och intaget av mängden bröstmjölk genererade i ångest och minskade anknytningen. Barnmorskor och neonatalsjuksköterskor måste lägga störst fokus på att stödja

På sjukhus i Sverige arbetar sjuksköterskor på neonatalavdelningar med att ta hand om de allra minsta barnen och deras speciella behov. Barnen är i behov av specialistsjukvård, ibland intensivvårdskrävande med högteknologisk utrustning, samtidigt som de behöver påbörja den viktiga anknytningen till sin familj. Sjuksköterskor behöver specialkompetens för att arbeta i den krävande vårdmiljön, där de skall ta hand om ett vårdkrävande barn samt familjen till barnet och arbeta familjecentrerat. Syftet med studien var att belysa sjuksköterskors erfarenhet av att arbeta med familjecentrerad neonatalvård. Fokusgruppsintervjuer genomfördes som senare analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet presenteras i fyra kategorier ” familjen i centrum”, ”sjuksköterskans roll”, ”sjuksköterskans inställning” och ”miljöns betydelse”. Av resultatet framkom att familjecentrerad neonatalvård ställer höga krav på personalen som arbetar där samt att miljöns utformning är av betydelse. Personalen måste vara lyhörd för såväl barnets behov som föräldrarnas, i en vårdmiljö som inte alltid är ändamålsenligt utformad. I framtida utbyggnad av familjecentrerad neonatalvård är det önskvärt att ta del av den erfarenhet som finns bland så väl sjuksköterskor som föräldrar för att få framtidens familjecentrerade neonatalvård så god som möjligt. / At hospitals in Sweden, nurses are working in neonatal units caring for the youngest infants and their special needs. The infants are in need of specialist care, sometimes even intensive care with high technology equipment, at the same time the infants needs to start improve the important connection to his family. The nurses needs specialized skills to be able to work in these demanding healthcare environment. They are supposed to take care of infants with special needs, care for the family and do this with focus on family centered care. The aim of this study was to illuminate nurses ‘experiences of working at neonatal care units engaged to family centered care. The interviews were conducted in focus groups. They were subsequently analyzed by qualitative content analysis. The results are presented in four categories “the family in the center”, “nurses´ role”, “nurses´ attitude” and “importance of the environment”. The result showed that it requires a lot from the nurses, but also from the environment that prevails. The nurses need to be responsive as well to the needs of the infant as to the family’s needs, in an environment which is not always made for its intended use. In future expansion of family centered neonatal care units, it´s desirable to take advantage of the experiences that exists among nurses as well as parents, to make the future family centered neonatal care units as good as possible.

The purpose of this research was to identify the values influencing the nurse's perception and choice of behavior in a hypothetical clinical situation. The theoretical framework was Rokeach's (1973) Theory on the Nature of Human Values and Value Systems. A descriptive study using a mailed survey was conducted on a random sample of 331 members of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses. Data on individual nurses' values, perception of information and behavioral choices were collected with an investigator developed questionnaire, consisting of a values scale (alpha =.82) and an information scale and choice alternatives related to three hypothetical vignettes: a low birthweight infant (alpha =.75), an infant with trisomy-13 (alpha =.70) and a chronically ill infant (alpha =.68). Results of this study indicate that (1) nurses identified a hierarchy of values related to their practice; "doing right" (x = 6.1), beneficence (x = 5.4), and justice (x = 4.8), (2) information related to the infant was consistently most important; however, in uncertain situations, rules or external protocols had an increased influence on the behavioral choice process, (3) the behavioral choice option with the greatest agreement was different for each situation, and a consistently negative association between the options within each vignette indicates that nurses have clearly defined choice preferences, (4) model testing revealed a consistent relationship among the variable of justice and protocol, doing right and infant characteristics, and infant characteristics and the choice options across the three vignettes (p <.05). The major findings include the identification of the value dimension, "doing right" and a lack of congruence between the values the nurse identifies as important and the actions the individual implements in practice. The phenomenon of "doing right" is a combination of items originally hypothesized to measure nurse autonomy, family autonomy and beneficence. The convergence of these items results in an unique dimension that represents the nurse's internally directed motivation or sense of duty to the infant/family unit. The lack of congruence between the identified values and the behaviors implemented in practice represents the sense of frustration and feeling of powerlessness experienced by nurses (n = 97) as they balance the role of professional and the role of employee.

Introduction : Cette recherche a pour but d'évaluer les effets du programme de communication sur le changement comportemental de quels acteurs pour promouvoir l'allaitement dans la première heure qui suit l'accouchement chez les mères les plus vulnérables au Niger. Les objectifs consistent à identifier les déterminants de l'allaitement précoce et à élaborer une typologie de stratégies de communication intégrées. Les facteurs de résultat comportemental relatifs à la santé de l'enfant constituent un objet de recherche important en démographie. Toutefois, peu d'études ont abordé l'allaitement postpartum en Afrique Sub-Saharienne. Les interventions de soins de santé néonatale n'ont pas suffisamment été explorées dans la région selon des perspectives démographiques tout en mettant en évidence l'inégalité socio-économique dans la région. Cette thèse est une étude démographique qui a quantifié les pratiques de l'allaitement, qui se caractérise par les information qualitatives et non scientifique dans la plupart des études comportementales, et ce parmi le groupe des mères les plus démunies. Méthodes : L'analyse secondaire des études quantitatives transversales au Niger a été réalisée sur la base de la revue de la littérature sur des études menées en Afrique sub-saharienne. Les enquêtes transversales dont fait l'objet cette recherche sont les suivantes: l'Enquête démographique et de santé (EDS) 2006 Niger, l'EDS 2012 Niger et l'enquête d'évaluation dans les 4 régions de Niger en 2011, le dernier a pour but d'examiner l'impact du programme de communication sur la promotion de soins de santé de l'enfant au niveau familial et communautaire. Pour constituer une population d'étude pour chaque base de donnée, le même critère d'exclusion a été appliqué afin d'inclure les femmes de 15-49 ans, ayant au moins un enfant de moins de 24 mois et qui ont accouché par voie basse. Un échantillon aléatoire stratifié a été tiré pour sélectionner 2091 femmes divisées en deux strates, le groupe d'intervention et le groupe de contrôle. Les outils d'analyse de données ont été le test du chi2 et la régression logistique multivariée. Les variables indépendantes incluent les actions de communication, les statuts démographiques et économiques des mères, les recours aux soins de santé de l'enfant ainsi que les pratiques et infrastructures d'hygiène. Résultats : Le retard de l'allaitement postpartum s'est caractérisé par le niveau de vie des plus démunis au Niger. Quelque soit la vulnérabilité socio-économique, des pratiques d'hygiène ont augmenté la chance de l'initiation de l'allaitement précoce. L'enquête d'évaluation dans les 4 régions de Niger a montré que le lavage des mains et l'utilisation des latrines traditionnelles étaient fortement corrélées avec l'allaitement précoce qui a augmenté respectivement de l'OR à 2.4 (IC 95%: [76; 220]) et à 2.3 (IC 95%: [51; 248]). Les agents de santé des établissements sanitaires, les sages-femmes, ont joué un rôle clef déterminant sur l'allaitement postpartum. Le statut valorisant de sages-femmes impliquées dans le programme de communication était à l'origine d'une hausse significative de l'allaitement précoce. Toutefois, les consultation prénatale (CPN) par les sages femmes a augmenté l'allaitement initial de 52% (IC 95%: [14; 103]) par rapport à celles qui n'ont jamais effectué de CPN. L'enquête d'évaluation ne procure aucune information à savoir si le programme de communication a intégré les accoucheuses traditionnelles afin d'appliquer une approche à base communautaire. Une approche inter-sectorielle qui s'adresse aux multiples dimensions de soins de santé maternelle et infantile a augmenté à 6.9 l'OR de l'allaitement initial (95%CI: [374; 900]). Les visites à domicile par les relais communautaires se sont avérées statistiquement non significatives (IC 95%: [-10; 54]). La promotion par les pairs a réduit le risque de retard de l'initiation de l'allaitement de 100% (IC 95%: [39; 189]). / Introduction. This research aims to evaluate the effects of a behavior change communication program promoting early initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth among the most vulnerable mothers in rural Niger. The main objectives are to identify the social determinants of initial breastfeeding and to examine the typology of integrated communication strategies for the socio-economically vulnerable group of populations. Behavioral child health outcomes have become an important research subject in Demography. However, few studies have examined breastfeeding during the postpartum period in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Very few demographic approaches were applied to evaluate neonatal care by looking into socio-economic inequity in SSA. This thesis quantifies predominantly qualitative information characterizing behavioral studies in breastfeeding among the most deprived population. Methods. This is a secondary analysis of cross-sectional quantitative studies conducted in Niger at different points of time based on a literature review of previous studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa. The cross-sectional surveys include: the 2006 Niger Demographic Health Survey (DHS), the 2012 Niger DHS and the post-intervention survey (PIS) conducted in 2011 to evaluate a communication program promoting family and community based child health care in 4 regions of Niger. To constitute a study population for each dataset, the same exclusion criteria were applied to include women aged 15-49 years, having at least one child less than 24 months born with vaginal delivery. The PIS study population, drawn from the original survey with stratified random sampling, was divided into two strata, the intervention and control groups according to exposure to the communication program. Statistical analysis tools were the chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression. Independent variables include behavior change activities, socio-demographic and economic status of mothers, health seeking behavior and hygiene practices. Results. Postpartum breastfeeding is impaired by income poverty in Niger. Regardless of socio-economic vulnerability, hygiene practice increases the chance of early initiation of breastfeeding. Multivariate analysis with the 2011 PIS shows that hand washing and use of a traditional latrine increases by 2.4 (95%CI: 76; 220) and by 2.3 (95%CI: 51; 248) respectively the odds of early initiation of breastfeeding. Government health workers, midwives, play a key role determining mothers' postpartum breastfeeding. Antenatal care (ANC) provided by midwives increases the chance of early breastfeeding that increases by 52% (95%CI: 14, 103) compared to ANC provided by other health professionals among the most deprived group of populations. The PIS does not provide any information to evaluate the role of traditional birth attendants in neonatal care. An inter-sectorial approach addressing multiple dimensions of maternal and child health significantly increases by 6.9 odds (95%CI: 374, 900) early initiation of breastfeeding compared to those who are not reached by the whole integrated KFP promotion. Home visits by community volunteers are not significant (IC 95%: -10; 54). Involvement of mothers as a peer promoting exclusive breastfeeding significantly reduces the risk of delayed initiation of breastfeeding by 2.0 odds (IC 95%: 39; 189). However, the number of exposures to different types of communication strategies does not influence positively early breastfeeding. Conclusions. The impact of community volunteers and health workers is limited with regard to early breastfeeding among the most deprived group of mothers. The model of behavior change communication with participatory peer promotion and a multi-sectorial approach combining optimal hygiene promotion suggests a response to socio-economic disparity.

Bakgrund: Varje år behöver mer än 10 000 nyfödda barn i Sverige vård på en neonatalvårdsavdelning. Vårdtiden präglas av åtskilliga blodprovstagningar som orsakar barnet smärta och ökat vårdlidande. Sjuksköterskans ansvar innefattar att agera för barnets bästa i alla situationer, men det kan saknas tydliga riktlinjer för hur detta ska ske på arbetsplatsen. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva sjuksköterskors resonemang och arbetssätt vid blodprovstagning på barn på neonatalvårdsavdelning, samt att undersöka hur barnets bästa finns i fokus vid proceduren. Metod: Studien utformades med en kvalitativ studiedesign i avsikt att generera kunskap om sjuksköterskornas erfarenheter vid blodprovstagning. Tolv intervjuer genomfördes utifrån en semistrukturerad intervjuguide med sjuksköterskor verksamma vid en neonatalvårdsavdelning på ett svenskt universitetssjukhus. Den insamlade datan analyserades genom en induktiv innehållsanalys. Resultat: Vilken stickmetod sjuksköterskorna använde var anpassat efter barnet och situationen. De såg till barnets förutsättningar och planerade provtagningen efter vad barnet klarade av, i samråd med föräldrarna. Sjuksköterskorna strävade efter föräldranärvaro vid provtagningen och åtog adekvata smärtlindringsmetoder i den mån som situationen tillät. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskorna hade genomgående barnets bästa i fokus vid provtagningsproceduren. De såg en komplexitet i sin roll att både vara den som orsakar barnet smärta, men även vara den som ska minska barnets vårdlidande. / Background: Every year, more than 10 000 newborn children require hospitalization in a neonatal intensive care unit. During this time, they are subjected to several painful blood sampling procedures that will cause them suffering to some extent. The nurses’ responsibility is to act on what is best for each child at all times but clearer guidelines for how that should be executed in practical nursing care might be needed. Aim: To describe the reasoning and the working manner of the nurses when performing blood sampling on children. The study also aims to examine how the child’s best interest is taken into account before and during this procedure. Method: A qualitative design was used for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 registered nurses who work in the neonatal intensive care unit at a Swedish University Hospital. Collected data were analysed using inductive content analysis. Results: Regardless of which technique the nurses chose when performing blood sampling it was assessed as the most appropriate one for each child. They took the children’s prerequisites and ability to cope into account and planned the procedure in consensus with their parents. Nurses strove to encourage parents to stay close to and support their children when blood sampling was conducted, and adequate analgesic actions were undertaken. Conclusion: Nurses had the children’s best at heart all through the process of blood sampling. Their role as both inflicting and relieving pain was considered to be complex in the aim to avoid suffering.