Effectiveness of a nursing intervention for relationship-building between Japanese parents and their problematic breast-feeders using the NBO

Saito, E. EFFECTIVENESS OF A NURSING INTERVENTION FOR RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING BETWEEN JAPANESE PARENTS AND THEIR PROBLEMATIC BREAST-FEEDERS, USING THE NEWBORN BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS SYSTEM.  Presented at WAIMH, Edinburgh, 2014

Abstract

Introduction: Most Japanese women want to initiate breastfeeding immediately after birth. If the baby has difficulty feeding, mothers may begin to doubt their ability as mothers. This study examined the effectiveness of a nursing intervention using the NBO on parents' understanding of their infants' behavior and their confidence as mothers.

Method: This was a mixed methods study using quantitative and qualitative analyses. Participants were breastfeeding mothers of healthy newborns, whose babies who were not sucking well. 11 mothers and fathers agreed to participate. The NBO session was conducted with each mother and infant or mother, father and infant, in the hospital at 3-7 days and at home at 2 weeks, 1, 2 and 3 52 months. Parent's understanding of their baby's behavior was measured using the Brazelton Institute Parent Questionnaire and qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews.

Results: Results showed that participation in the NBO was related to an increased understanding of their baby's behavior, closer ties between parents and their infants and an increase in parental confidence. When both fathers and mothers participated in the NBO together, compared with the participation of mothers only, as long as the mother's mental state had stabilized from the time of the first NBO intervention, both fathers and mothers enjoyed positive interactions with their infants.

Conclusions: An early nursing intervention using the NBO was effective in increasing parent's understanding of their baby's behavior and promoting positive mother-child and father-child interaction in a Japanese setting.