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  • Title: Providing mother's own milk in the context of the NICU: a paradoxical experience.
    Author: Hurst N, Engebretson J, Mahoney JS.
    Journal: J Hum Lact; 2013 Aug; 29(3):366-73. PubMed ID: 23635469.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Mothers of very preterm infants continue to face challenges related to providing their expressed breast milk in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study sought to understand the experience of mothers of hospitalized very preterm infants related to their daily pumping routine during the NICU stay. METHODS: Fourteen women who were pumping breast milk for their hospitalized infants were interviewed. Sequential, semistructured, audiotaped individual interviews were conducted at 2 different time points: within 2 weeks following delivery when the mothers were pumping only, and 4 to 6 weeks once breastfeeding had been initiated. RESULTS: The central themes found were: becoming a "mother-interrupted" and negotiating a paradoxical experience of separation and connection. Unique to these findings were the paradoxical view of the pump as both a wedge and a link to their infants, the intense dislike the mothers had for the tasks required to provide their expressed breast milk, and diversionary tactics used during pumping sessions. CONCLUSION: The complexity of thoughts, actions, and behaviors revealed in the mothers' narrative accounts provides a guide to direct future breastfeeding interventions and management.
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