The lived experiences and social support needs of first-time mothers at health care facilities in the City of Tshwane, South Africa

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Background

Social support refers to the assistance people receive from others, and it is divided into four types of support. Given the increasing mortality and morbidity rates of mothers and neonates postpartum, this study intended to determine whether the social support needs of the first-time mothers were met after early discharge from health care facilities.

Objectives

The objective of the study was to explore the lived experiences and social support needs of the first-time mothers after an early discharge from health care facilities in the City of Tshwane, Gauteng.

Method

A qualitative explorative study was conducted to explore the lived experiences and social support needs of the first-time mothers. The population were first-time mothers who had a vaginal delivery and were discharged within 6–12 hours of delivery from health care facilities. Purposive sampling was performed and 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted, with those mothers who came for the prescribed three postnatal check-ups at the three health care facilities identified according to maternity services provided. Saturation of data for the three health care facilities was reached at the 14th interview. Data analysis was performed using the hermeneutic interpretive approach.

Results

Almost all participants had completed grades 11 or 12, but most were unemployed. The needs identified included the need for social support, lack of confidence, knowledge and skill to care for themselves and their newborn babies after early discharge.

Conclusion

There is need to identify alternative types of social support for the first-time mothers, to ensure a normal adjustment to motherhood.

Related collections

Most cited references 38

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Transition to parenthood: the needs of parents in pregnancy and early parenthood

Toity Deave, Debbie Johnson, Jenny Ingram (2008)

Background Pregnancy and the transition to parenthood are major adjustment periods within a family. Existing studies have asked parents, retrospectively, about their experience of antenatal education, mainly focusing on women. We sought to address this gap by asking first-time mothers and their partners about how they could be better supported during the antenatal period, particularly in relation to the transition to parenthood and parenting skills. Methods Purposive sampling was used to recruit 24 nulliparous women with a range of ages from two healthcare organisations in South-West England, 20 of whom had partners. Recruitment took place antenatally at around 28 weeks gestation. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken at home in the last trimester of pregnancy and between 3–4 months postpartum. Content analysis of the interview data was undertaken. Results Several common themes emerged from both the ante- and postnatal data, including support mechanisms, information and antenatal education, breastfeeding, practical baby-care and relationship changes. Knowledge about the transition to parenthood was poor. Women generally felt well supported, especially by female relatives and, for those who attended them, postnatal groups. This was in contrast to the men who often only had health professionals and work colleagues to turn to. The men felt very involved with their partners' pregnancy but excluded from antenatal appointments, antenatal classes and by the literature that was available. Parents had been unaware of, and surprised at, the changes in the relationship with their partners. They would have liked more information on elements of parenting and baby care, relationship changes and partners' perspectives prior to becoming parents. Conclusion Many studies and policy documents have highlighted the paucity of parents' preparation for parenthood. This study has indicated the need for an improvement in parents' preparation for parenthood, the importance of including fathers in antenatal education and that inadequate preparation remains a concern to both women and their partners. This paper identifies several avenues for action and further research to improve both new parents' experience of antenatal education and their preparation for parenthood.