Supporting infants and parents in the perinatal period (SIPP): Co-creating an improved journey.

There has been a 70% increase in infant A&E attendance across England in the last decade, much of it non-urgent, highlighting the need to improve parental confidence and services for infant care. A multidisciplinary group of healthcare professionals was established with the aim of understanding...

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Main Authors: Tami Benzaken, Francesca Siracusa, Michelle D'Souza, Radhika Gulati, Esta Orchard, Alexandra Lemaigre, Clare Andrews, Mitch Blair
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305786
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author Tami Benzaken
Francesca Siracusa
Michelle D'Souza
Radhika Gulati
Esta Orchard
Alexandra Lemaigre
Clare Andrews
Mitch Blair
author_facet Tami Benzaken
Francesca Siracusa
Michelle D'Souza
Radhika Gulati
Esta Orchard
Alexandra Lemaigre
Clare Andrews
Mitch Blair
author_sort Tami Benzaken
collection DOAJ
description There has been a 70% increase in infant A&E attendance across England in the last decade, much of it non-urgent, highlighting the need to improve parental confidence and services for infant care. A multidisciplinary group of healthcare professionals was established with the aim of understanding and evaluating the support given to new parents in the early postnatal period. We recruited parents and caregivers of infants born in a large district hospital. Participants were recruited in the postnatal ward and neonatal unit. Participants were offered face-to-face or virtual interviews with an interpreter where required. Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted between February and September 2022 (16 virtual, 1 face-to-face). Thematic content analysis was used to manually identify codes and refined to develop a common coding framework which was used to identify final themes and subthemes. Following the initial set of interviews, a focus group with 12 different participants was held to validate the themes. Two main themes were identified: (1) service access, continuity, consistency, and personalisation of care are highly valued, and (2) preparation and support during transition is important and individual. Within theme 1, we identified facilitators (health literacy, consistent messaging, telephone line), barriers (staff shortages, communication between healthcare workers, discrimination), and person-centred care as sub-themes. In theme 2, participants highlighted the importance of their expectations of normal, support from family and friends, and experiences using applications and social media. Effective support and care in the postnatal period are vital for ensuring and promoting the health and wellbeing of mothers and their babies. These findings were presented to local maternity services and service users by the research team, resulting in local service improvements.
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spelling doaj-art-06cfd7dded2140a09ef9b9f7d40c70362025-08-20T03:08:14ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01205e030578610.1371/journal.pone.0305786Supporting infants and parents in the perinatal period (SIPP): Co-creating an improved journey.Tami BenzakenFrancesca SiracusaMichelle D'SouzaRadhika GulatiEsta OrchardAlexandra LemaigreClare AndrewsMitch BlairThere has been a 70% increase in infant A&E attendance across England in the last decade, much of it non-urgent, highlighting the need to improve parental confidence and services for infant care. A multidisciplinary group of healthcare professionals was established with the aim of understanding and evaluating the support given to new parents in the early postnatal period. We recruited parents and caregivers of infants born in a large district hospital. Participants were recruited in the postnatal ward and neonatal unit. Participants were offered face-to-face or virtual interviews with an interpreter where required. Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted between February and September 2022 (16 virtual, 1 face-to-face). Thematic content analysis was used to manually identify codes and refined to develop a common coding framework which was used to identify final themes and subthemes. Following the initial set of interviews, a focus group with 12 different participants was held to validate the themes. Two main themes were identified: (1) service access, continuity, consistency, and personalisation of care are highly valued, and (2) preparation and support during transition is important and individual. Within theme 1, we identified facilitators (health literacy, consistent messaging, telephone line), barriers (staff shortages, communication between healthcare workers, discrimination), and person-centred care as sub-themes. In theme 2, participants highlighted the importance of their expectations of normal, support from family and friends, and experiences using applications and social media. Effective support and care in the postnatal period are vital for ensuring and promoting the health and wellbeing of mothers and their babies. These findings were presented to local maternity services and service users by the research team, resulting in local service improvements.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305786
spellingShingle Tami Benzaken
Francesca Siracusa
Michelle D'Souza
Radhika Gulati
Esta Orchard
Alexandra Lemaigre
Clare Andrews
Mitch Blair
Supporting infants and parents in the perinatal period (SIPP): Co-creating an improved journey.
PLoS ONE
title Supporting infants and parents in the perinatal period (SIPP): Co-creating an improved journey.
title_full Supporting infants and parents in the perinatal period (SIPP): Co-creating an improved journey.
title_fullStr Supporting infants and parents in the perinatal period (SIPP): Co-creating an improved journey.
title_full_unstemmed Supporting infants and parents in the perinatal period (SIPP): Co-creating an improved journey.
title_short Supporting infants and parents in the perinatal period (SIPP): Co-creating an improved journey.
title_sort supporting infants and parents in the perinatal period sipp co creating an improved journey
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305786
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