Feeding and swallowing difficulties in previously hospitalised premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit: Perspectives from South African caregivers.

BACKGROUND

Premature birth is associated with many medical conditions including feeding and swallowing difficulties. Despite the existing knowledge on caregivers' experiences, there is a dearth of literature that has explored experiences of caregivers whose infants have feeding difficulties in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in South Africa.

OBJECTIVES

This study explored experiences of caregivers of premature infants diagnosed with feeding difficulties in the NICU within the South African context.

METHOD: This study was conducted using an explorative qualitative design. Data were collected using an anonymous qualitative survey distributed through caregiver social media support groups. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 9 participants. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Three main themes emerged, namely: (1) Emotional distress associated with infants' feeding and swallowing difficulties and prematurity, (2) infants' inability to feed orally and NICU restrictions: barriers to caregiver-infant attachment and bonding, and (3) caregiver informational needs regarding oral feeding and general child care.

CONCLUSION

This study indicates the need for holistic family-centred healthcare practices within the NICU. Therefore, in addition to providing oral-sensorimotor intervention to infants with feeding and/or swallowing difficulties, speech-language therapists (SLTs) need to ensure that caregiver needs and concerns related to their child are addressed. Moreover, SLT interventions need to consider caregiver-infant attachment and bonding strategies in the absence of oral feeding.Contribution: This study highlights the need for family-centred care practices within the NICU, which considers informational needs, inclusion in oral-sensorimotor intervention, and the psychosocial needs of caregivers.