Qualitative analysis of mothers’ perception related to the delivery of information surrounding premature births

Background: Prematurity is a major health issue due to its potential outcomes and socioeconomic impact. Prenatal counseling is of major importance for parents because it is believed that the risk of preterm birth is associated with a higher parental mental burden. Nowadays in France, the content and delivery of antenatal counseling is based on personal experience since there is a lack of official guidelines. The goal of the study was to evaluate maternal perception of antenatal information delivered in the setting of premature births. Methods: A qualitative study was performed using semi-structured individual interviews of 15 mothers with a child born >26-34 GW. Data analysis was based on a constant comparative method. Results: We found that concerning prenatal counselling content, parents wanted to be informed of their role in the care of their premature child more so than statistics that were not always considered relevant. Parents’ reactions to the announcement of the risk of a premature birth was dominated by stupefaction, uncertainty and anxiety. When it comes to the setting of prenatal counselling, patients’ room was deemed an appropriate setting by parents and ideally the presence of a coparent was appreciated as it increased patients’ understanding. The physicians’ behavior during the counselling was considered appropriate and described as empathic and optimistic. The importance of support throughout the hospitalization in the form of other parents’ experiences, healthcare professionals and the possibility to preemptively visit the NICU was emphasized by participants. Delivery experience was dominated by a sense of uncertainty, and urgency. Some leads for improvement included additional support of information such as virtual NICU visit; participants also insisted on continuity of care and the multidisciplinary aspect of counselling (obstetrician, pediatrician, midwive, nurse, lactation consultant and psychologist). Conclusion: Overall general guidelines on prenatal counseling seem necessary, however personalization remains fundamental.