Cuddling very and extremely preterm babies in the delivery room is a positive and normal experience for mothers after the birth

Aim: Extremely preterm infants are separated from their mothers immediately after birth and not placed skin-to-skin in routine neonatal intensive care unit settings. Visual and physical contact in the delivery room as a first cuddle potentially can facilitate early parent-infant interaction and reduce the trauma of separation. Our aim in this study was to explore mothers' experience of delivery room cuddle by collecting qualitative feedback via emotional mapping.

Methods: Six mothers experiencing delivery room cuddle had been recruited (GA of their babies 24 + 5-29 + 0 weeks, birth weight 540-1019 g). Using a descriptive qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews were performed with six mothers following consent via Zoom or phone between September 2020 and March 2021. Interviews were transcribed using AI Otter and then analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: Analysis of the participants' experiences revealed five themes: fears and hopes around delivery; the moment of delivery-recognising uncertainty; reclaiming normalcy; forming connections; and the journey ahead as an empowered parent.

Conclusion: All mothers reported positive emotions about the cuddle with their baby. They highlighted that this physical contact was often the only positive and 'normal' birth experience they had from the time of delivery.