Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand the breastfeeding process mothers' face with their high-risk infants. Grounded theory methodology was used in this qualitative study to capture the richness of this experience. A purposive sample of 20 breastfeeding mothers, with diverse cultural backgrounds, whose babies had been discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit, was recruited. Open-ended, interactive, telephone interviews were conducted to obtain data. Coding procedures and constant comparative analysis were utilized for the simultaneous data collection and analysis. The core category that emerged from the data was, ";Navigating through Uncertainty";. Mothers described breastfeeding the high-risk infant as a ";process that happened slowly over time"; and was ";full of unknowns";. Five major categories observed in the data and subsumed by the core category included, Realizing something is wrong, Enduring the ";heartbreak";. Living with the changing reality day-by-day, Being a mother in the NICU, and Mothering the baby at home. The findings of this study suggest that these mothers exhibit physical and emotional stamina in their pursuit to breastfeed. Implications for nursing practice include providing parents with increased support systems and resources while the infants are in the NICU, helping mothers develop realistic expectations concerning the progression of breastfeeding, and offering anticipatory guidance and follow up resources for mothers as their infant approaches discharge.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 9972559; ProQuest document ID: 304607902. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Susan Golembeski, PhD, RN

Sigma Membership

Beta Tau

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Grounded Theory

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Maternal Experience, High-risk Infant Care, Infant Care

Advisor

Nancy Hogan

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

University of Miami

Degree Year

2000

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2019-06-10

Full Text of Presentation

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