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The infants in the skin-to-skin group were comforted, that is, they stopped crying, became calmer, and reached a drowsy state earlier than the infants in the cot group. The father can facilitate the development of the infant's prefeeding behavior in this important period of the newborn infant's life and should thus be regarded as the primary caregiver for the infant during the separation of mother and baby.

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BackgroundWith professional midwives being introduced in Bangladesh in 2013, the aim of this study was to describe midwifery students perceptions on midwives’ realities in Bangladesh, based on their own experiences.MethodData were collected through 14 focus group discussions that included a total of 67 third-year diploma midwifery students at public nursing institutes/colleges in different parts of Bangladesh. Data were analyzed deductively using an analytical framework identifying social, professional and economical barriers to the provision of quality care by midwifery personnel.ResultsThe social barriers preventing midwifery quality care falls outside the parameters of Bangladeshi cultural norms that have been shaped by beliefs associated with religion, society, and gender norms. This puts midwives in a vulnerable position due to cultural prejudice. Professional barriers include heavy workloads with a shortage of staff who were not utilized to their full capacity within the health system. The reason for this was a lack of recognition in the medical hierarchy, leaving midwives with low levels of autonomy. Economical barriers were reflected by lack of supplies and hospital beds, midwives earning only low and/or irregular salaries, a lack of opportunities for recreation, and personal insecurity related to lack of housing and transportation.ConclusionWithout adequate support for midwives, to strengthen their self-confidence through education and through continuous professional and economic development, little can be achieved in terms of improving quality care of women during the period around early and late pregnancy including childbirth.The findings can be used for discussions aimed to mobilize a midwifery workforce across the continuum of care to deliver quality reproductive health care services. No matter how much adequate support is provided to midwives, to strengthen their self-confidence through education, continuous professional and economic development, addressing the social barriers is a prerequisite for provision of quality care.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-018-3447-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Growing numbers of openly gay women choose to have children, but there have been few studies on the topic. The aim of this study was to describe the co-mother's experiences of care provided during their partner's pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period. Six co-mothers were interviewed between six weeks and three years after the birth of their child. The open interviews were analysed using content analysis. The overall theme of the findings was ‘like everyone else, but not quite’. The following main categories were identified: need for acknowledgement, need for care designed to suit same-sex couples, and in the hands of nursing staff. Co-mothers felt themselves to be ‘like everyone else but not quite’. In order to support the relationship of same-sex parents in parenthood it is important for midwifery staff to recognize co-mothers as an equal parent of the child.

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Women who choose to give birth at home find empowering sources within themselves from their environment and from the active and passive support of persons they have chosen to be present at the birth.

The aim of this phenomenographic study was to capture fathers' conceptions of parental education topics, illuminated by their experiences as primary caregiver of their child immediately following birth. Fifteen fathers were interviewed between 8 days and 6 weeks after the birth of their child. Three categories, five subcategories, and 12 qualitatively different conceptions emerged from the study's findings. The first category showed that parental education emphasizes the importance of normal birth.The second category illustrated that parental education defuses the issue of complicated births. The third category demonstrated that parental education preserves traditional gender roles. The study's results may facilitate efforts to integrate fathers into parental education toward the aim of achieving parity between mother and father in their role as parents.