Me and My Baby Are One; The Mother's Experience of Continuous Kangaroo Care: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: Infant hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) causes the separation of mother from her infant. Kangaroo Care (KC) is a bio-care method for preterm newborns. This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the experiences of mothers that could be helpful for the further development and expansion of continuous kangaroo mother care (C-KMC). Materials and Methods: This is a qualitative study with a content analysis approach. In order to collect data, in-depth individual interviews were conducted with thirteen mothers who were able to care for their infants in the form of C-KMC. The sampling was of purposeful type; the interviews were recorded, and their contents were written accurately and word by word. Findings: Analysis of mothers' experiences led to the emergence of three main themes of mother’s positive attitude, facilitator factors and barriers to perform C-KMC. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that performing KMC caused a sense of calm, empowerment, and satisfaction of the mother and had many medical benefits for the infant. On the other hand, physicians and nurses can act as facilitators or barriers based on the support they make from mothers. Also, the support of the spouse and family play an important role in continuing to perform the continuous KMC by the mother.