Experiences of mothers about the role of patronage nurse in establishing and maintaining breastfeeding and careing for the newborn

Uvod: Patronaţna zdravstvena zaštita ima nezaobilaznu ulogu u zdravlju i dobrobiti rodilje i novorođenčeta. Nakon izlaska iz rodilišta, zdravstvenu njegu i odgoj babinjače provodi patronaţna sestra. Jedna od njenih uloga je pomoć rodilji kod uspostave i odrţavanja dojenja, te brige za novorođenče. Cilj: Cilj istraţivanja je procijeniti iskustva rodilja o dostatnoj pomoći patronaţne sestre u brizi za novorođenče i u uspostavi i odrţavanju dojenja. Metode: Istraţivanje je presječna prospektivna studija koja je provedena putem on line upitnika u Facebook grupi „Mame i trudnice 2020./2021.― u lipnju 2021. godine. U istraţivanju je sudjelovalo prvih 100 nasumičnih punoljetnih rodilja koje su dobrovoljno odlučile ispuniti upitnik nakon njegove javne objave, a koje su rodile najmanje 6 tjedana prije pristupa istraţivanju. U istraţivanju nisu mogle sudjelovati maloljetne rodilje i rodilje kojima je od poroda prošlo manje od 6 tjedana. Za potrebe istraţivanja koristio se validirani upitnik o iskustvima pacijenata pod nazivom „Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire― (GS-PEQ). Upitnik je preveden na hrvatski jezik i minimalno modificiran za potrebe istraţivanja. Rezultati: Dobiveni rezultati pokazuju kako su rodilje uglavnom zadovoljne dobivenom pomoći patronaţne sestre, iako su ipak zadovoljnije s dobivenom pomoći patronaţne sestre oko brige za novorođenče nego s dobivenom pomoći oko uspostave i odrţavanja dojenja. Zaključak: Temeljem dobivenih rezultata, potvrđena je hipoteza kako su rodilje zadovoljnije s dobivenom pomoći patronaţne sestre oko brige za novorođenče nego s dobivenom pomoći oko uspostave i odrţavanja dojenja te su detektirana područja na kojima su moguća dodatna poboljšanja.Introduction: Patronage nurse care has an independent role in the health and well-being of mothers and newborns. After leaving the maternity hospital, the health care and upbringing of the mothers is carried out by a patronage nurse. One of her roles is to help mothers with the establishment and maintenance of breastfeeding, and help with the care for the newborn. Aim: The aim of the research is to examine the mother's experience of sufficient assistance of a patronage nurse in caring for a newborn and in establishing and maintaining breastfeeding. Methods: The research is a cross-sectional prospective study conducted through an online questionnaire in the Facebook group "Moms and pregnant women 2020/2021" in June 2021. The study involved the first 100 random adult mothers who voluntarily decided to complete the questionnaire after its public announcement, and who gave birth at least 6 weeks before accessing the study. Underage mothers and mothers who didn’t gave birth at least 6 weeks before accessing the study could not participate in the study. A validated Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire (GS-PEQ) was used for the study. The questionnaire was translated into Croatian and minimally modified for research purposes. Results: The obtained results show that mothers are generally satisfied with the help received by the patronage nurse, although they are still more satisfied with the help received by the patronage nurse in caring for the newborn than with the help received in establishing and maintaining breastfeeding. Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, the hypothesis that mothers are more satisfied with the assistance provided by the patronage nurse in caring for the newborn than with the assistance received in establishing and maintaining breastfeeding was confirmed and areas where further improvements are possible were identified