Supporting Premature Infants’ Oral Feeding in the NICU—A Qualitative Study of Nurses’ Perspectives

Abstract

One major task in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) involves ensuring adequate nutrition and supporting the provision of human milk. The aim of this study was to explore nurses’ experiences of the oral feeding process in the NICU when the infant is born extremely or very preterm. We used a qualitative inductive approach. Nine nurses from three family-centered NICUs were interviewed face-to-face. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using content analysis. Five sub-categories and two generic categories formed the main category: ‘A complex and long-lasting collaboration.’ The nurses wished to contribute to the parents’ understanding of the feeding process and their own role as parents in this process. The nurses’ intention was to guide and support parents to be autonomous in this process. They saw the family as a team in which the preterm infant was the leader whose needs and development directed the feeding and the parents’ actions in this process. Written and verbal communication, seeing all family members as important members of a team and early identification of the most vulnerable families to direct the emotional and practical feeding support accordingly can strengthen the feeding process in the NICU.

Perceptions of families and healthcare providers about feeding preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit: protocol for a qualitative systematic review

“…8 Additionally, nurse perceptions of oral feeding in the NICU have emphasised the impactful role they hold in teaching feeding techniques and relieving emotional distress for the family, which has highlighted a need for greater collaboration between the family and care providers. 9 Family integrated care has been perceived to be helpful in the reduction of maternal stress by parents of preterm infants as well as a necessary and feasible care model by neonatologists and NICU nurses that has the potential to lower length of hospitalisation, decrease healthcare costs and improve breastfeeding rates in preterm infants. [10][11][12] The approach to feeding preterm infants requires a multidisciplinary effort, including the family, nurses, dietitians, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, advanced practice providers and physicians.…”