Lived experiences of mothers when providing Kangaroo mother care at the hospitals in Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Each year, an estimated 3.6 million infants die worldwide in the first four weeks of life due to complications of premature birth. One-third of Low Birth Weight (LBW) babies die within the first 12 hours after delivery. The main reasons premature babies are at greater risk of illness and death is that they lack the ability to control their body temperature meaning that they get cold or hypothermic very quickly. Kangaroo Mother Care reduces mortality and if widely applied it could reduce deaths in premature newborn babies. The purpose of this study is to explore and describe the lived experiences of mothers when providing Kangaroo Mother Care at the hospitals in Vhembe District of Limpopo province. Qualitative approach with explorative descriptive, contextual and phenomenological designs were employed to explore the experiences of mothers when providing Kangaroo Mother Care. The study population consisted of all mothers who were providing Kangaroo Mother Care. A non-probability convenience sampling method was used to determine the sample of the study. The size of the sample was determined by data saturation. In-depth individual interviews were conducted using a central question. The Tesch’s eight steps of open-coding model guided the process to analyse data. Trustworthiness was ensured throughout by employing the principles of credibility, dependability, conformability, and transferability. Ethical considerations were followed to protect the participants. Recommendations were made based on the research findings. The findings of the study revealed that mothers who provide Kangaroo Mother Care experience challenges. They received inconsistent information about the practice of Kangaroo Mother Care from nurses. The relationship between mothers and nurses was good. Recomendations were made based on the findings and relevant structures in order to ensure that mothers challenges are addressed. The study revealed ineffective support provided to mothers by nurses and family members.