Postnatal home visiting : are midwives in Northern Ireland meeting women's need?

The aim of this study was to explore whether professional home postnatal care in n Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) meets women's expectations and needs. s. This was the first study of Irish community postnatal services in a Border area. The study site was a hospital tmst located in Northem Ireland in a Border area that serves pregnant women from either side of the Border. In NI midwives care for all women for a period not less than 10 days and longer if necessary. In the ROI. a different model of care exists whereby the public health nurse visits less often initially but provides care for families with infants over a longer period up to and including the school years. Key findings were that some ROI mothers received the minimum of two visits by the public health nurse. ROI mothers valued home visits up to three months after the birth but wanted more visits in the early postoatal peiiod. More advice about maternal health was needed and more help with infant feeding was required.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo