Exploring facilitators, barriers, and maternal perspectives of a novel educational intervention in promoting skin-to-skin contact.

Abstract

The study focuses on (1) investigating the facilitators and barriers associated with skin-to-skin contact and (2) exploring Saudi women's perspectives in the evaluation of an educational intervention designed to promote skin-to-skin contact. An online survey was carried out in two hospitals (control and intervention) in Saudi Arabia post SkiTS educational intervention, which was offered only to participants in the intervention group. Three weeks after birth, a semi-structured interview was carried out among participants from the intervention group to explore the impact of SkiTS educational intervention on their experience with skin-to-skin contact. The survey data were downloaded from Qualtrics to an Excel spreadsheet before performing statistical analysis on Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 29.0 (SPSS®). The qualitative data from the interview were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the Braun and Clarke six-phase thematic approach. A total of 383 women completed the survey (n = 192 in the control group and n = 191 in the intervention group), and eight women from the intervention group participated in the semi-structured interview. Lack of education about skin-to-skin contact was the most common barrier in the control group compared to lack of support from the hospital staff in the intervention group. Participants in the intervention group had positive experience with SkiTS intervention, which was very useful and easily accessible. Following the SkiTS intervention participants were less affected by the barriers and shared their best experience with skin-to-skin contact and early breastfeeding. This intervention is beneficial in improving the health outcomes for both the mother and the baby through skin-to-skin contact practice. The cultural and linguistic appropriateness of a specifically tailored educational intervention can help improve skin-to-skin practice as well as early breastfeeding initiation.