Experiences and needs of parents of babies treated for congenital duodenal obstruction – A qualitative study

• Published in: Journal of Pediatric Surgery Open 2023-10, Vol.3, p.100050, Article 100050
• Main Authors: Røkkum, Henrik, Hoel, Anders Telle, Bjørnland, Kristin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Congenital duodenal obstruction; Congenital gastrointestinal anomalies; Experiences; Focus group discussion; Needs; Parents
• ISSN: 2949-7116; 2949-7116
• DOI: 10.1016/j.yjpso.2023.100050

•What is currently known about this topic?.•Knowledge about experiences and needs of parents of babies with treated for congenital gastrointestinal anomalies is very limited.•What new information is contained in this article?.•Parents of babies treated for congenital duodenal obstruction experience emotional separation and concerns regarding breastfeeding. They need support and guidance for early participation in caretaking of the baby. Knowledge about experiences and needs of parents of babies operated for congenital gastrointestinal anomalies in the neonatal period is very limited. Therefore, we performed this qualitative study to explore the experiences and needs in this group of parents. Parents of babies operated for congenital duodenal obstruction participated in a focus group discussion. The focus group discussion was analyzed with hermeneutical interpretation, and themes representing important areas to the parents were identified. Six parents of five babies participated. Four themes evolved from the focus group discussion. “Grief over loss of initial parent-child bonding” describes the feeling of being separated from the baby during initial treatment. “Let me take care of my baby” refers to the importance for the parents to be involved in caring for their baby. “Concerns about breastfeeding” reflects the mothers’ worries about and need for encouragement and guidance regarding pumping and breastfeeding. “Trusting health care providers” implies that the parents were confident that their baby was well taken care of, despite an emotionally stressful situation. This qualitative study provides new and important knowledge regarding the experiences and needs of parents of babies operated for congenital duodenal obstruction. The results may be generalizable to other gastrointestinal anomalies needing surgery. This new knowledge may help health care providers to better meet the needs in parents of a baby having undergone repair of gastrointestinal anomaly. IV