Becoming a father, especially for the first time, can present changes in men's identity and in the relationship with their partner. Affinity within the family and participation in the whole process of pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period are important for fathers' sense of postnatal security. The fathers want to be already prepared before birth for the early postnatal period. Willingness

Aim: This study described how parents perceived their own sleep, and their infants’, during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and after discharge. It also explored the infants’ sleeping location at home. Methods: The study was conducted in the NICUs of two Swedish university hospitals. The parents of 86 infants – 86 mothers and 84 fathers – answered questionnaires during their infants’

Background: Breastfeeding rates in Sweden are declining, and it is important to identify women at risk for early cessation of exclusive breastfeeding. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding lasting less than two months postpartum. Methods: A population-based longitudinal study was conducted at Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden. Six hun

Objective To explore healthcare providers’ perceptions of the current postpartum care (PPC) practice and its potential for improvement at governmental health institutions in low-resource suburbs in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Design Qualitative design, using focus group discussions (8) and qualitative content analysis. Setting Healthcare institutions (8) at three levels of governmental healthcare in

Background: In order to improve the health and survival of mothers/newborns, the quality and attendance rates of postpartum care (PPC) must be increased, particularly in low-resource settings. Objective: To describe outcomes of a collegial facilitation intervention to improve PPC in government-owned health institutions in a low-resource suburb in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Methods: A before-and-afte

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding initiation rates in some developed countries are high (98 % in Sweden and 96 % in Australia) whereas in others, they are not as favourable (46 % to 55 % in Ireland). Although the World Health Organization recommends exclusively breastfeeding for six months, 15 % of Australian women, 11 % of Swedish women and less than 7 % of Irish women achieve this goal. Awareness of wha

Background: Counseling by experienced midwives is offered to women with childbirth fear in most obstetric clinics in Sweden, but information about the content of such counseling is lacking. Aim: To study comprehensiveness, content and organization of the midwife-led counseling for childbirth fear in all obstetric clinics in Sweden. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected using

Objective To investigate the association between the magnitude of foetal movements and level of prenatal attachment within a 24 h period among women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Design a prospective population-based survey. Setting A county in central Sweden. Participants Low risk pregnant women from 34 to 42 weeks gestation, N = 456, 299 multiparous and 157 primiparous women. Measurements

Aim This study investigated the effects of skin-to-skin contact on breastfeeding attainment, duration and infant growth in preterm infants, as this has not been sufficiently explored. Methods A prospective longitudinal study on Kangaroo mother care was carried out, comprising 104 infants with a gestational age of 28 + 0 to 33 + 6 and followed up to one year of corrected age. Parents and staff reco

Background: Fear of childbirth is common during pregnancy but rarely assessed in clinical practice. The Fear of Birth Scale has been proposed as a valid measure suitable for assessing fear of birth in an antenatal clinical context. To make sure that the scale makes sense in relation to the known constructs of fear of birth, it is important to find out what women think when responding to the Fear o

Background: Enabling women to make informed decisions is a key objective in the guidelines governing prenatal screening and diagnostics. Despite efforts to provide information, research shows that women's choice of prenatal screening is often not based on informed decisions. The aim of this study was to investigate pregnant women's perceptions of the use of an interactive web-based DA, developed t

Objective To investigate women's experiences of attending existing counseling programs for childbirth-related fear and the effect of this counseling over time. Design A longitudinal survey. Setting Three hospitals in the central north of Sweden. Sample A selected sample of 936 women. Of these, 70 received counseling due to fear of childbirth (study-group). Methods Data were collected with question

That society divides its members into females and males is the point of departure for much research on gender and language and yet the situated accomplishment of the primordial sex categorisation of the newborn child has not attracted much scholarly attention. The present study fills this research gap by exploring the interactional organisation of sex assignment in a corpus of 67 video recordings

Background: Studies of breastfeeding patterns during preterm infants' first year of life are scarce but are important for providing breastfeeding mothers of preterm infants with optimal support. Objective: This study aimed to describe breastfeeding patterns in preterm infants up to 1 year of corrected age. Methods: As part of a larger study on kangaroo mother care in Sweden, a 24-hour breastfeedin

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate attachment and its association to obstetric and demographic factors as well as emotional well-being using a standard measure of prenatal attachment during pregnancy. Background: The strength of the mothers’ relationship with her baby has important implications in the postnatal period, influencing the relationship she develops with her child, a

Objective: to investigate the prevalence of childbirth related fear (CBRF) in early pregnancy among both Swedish born and foreign born women living in Sweden. Design: a cross sectional prevalence study. Data was collected by a questionnaire, which was available in Swedish and eight other languages. Setting: a university hospital in the middle of Sweden. Participants: the recruitment took place dur

Aim: Early parental bonding with preterm babies is particularly important, and the aim of our study was to explore when parents experienced what they regarded as important events for the first time while their infant was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: The study was part of a longitudinal project on Kangaroo Mother Care at two Swedish university hospitals. The parents of 81 in

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of healthcare professionals' use of the hands-on approach during the first breastfeeding session postpartum and its possible association with the mothers' experience of their first breastfeeding session. Materials and Methods: This was a population-based longitudinal study conducted at Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden,

Objective: to compare self-rated health and perceived difficulties during pregnancy as well as antenatal attendance, birth experience and parental stress in fathers with and without childbirth related fear. Design: a longitudinal regional survey. Data were collected by three questionnaires. Setting: three hospitals in the middle-north part of Sweden. Participants: 1047 expectant fathers recruited