Author(s)

Margareta Wilsson, Annsofie Adolfsson

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One of the main priorities of the child healthcare services in Sweden is a home visit by the Child Health Care (BVC) nurse to newborn babies and their parents. It is essential that the BVC nurses have a comprehensive knowledge of the parent’s need of support and their expectations as new parents in order to be able to fulfill their needs. The aim of this study was to describe what type of support the mothers of infant children are in need of and what their expectations are of the BVC nurse when it is time for the home visit from the nurse. In this qualitative study twelve women were interviewed within one to two weeks after delivering a baby. The transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The study shows that mothers who have previously given birth to children feel more secure in their parental role compared to what they experienced as first time mothers. The findings include that first time mother’s experienced uncertainty in their new role as a mother and caring for a baby. Parents seek support from the BVC nurse and they expect her behavior and attitude towards them to be friendly and professional. The fact that she is privy to personal knowledge of the family gives the parents a feeling of security when they contact the child healthcare center for various reasons. The mother’s need for support to develop as a parent and to feel secure in the parental role was a reoccurring theme in the interviews and became the theme of the study.

Parents; Support; Expectations; Child Health Nurse; Home Visit

Wilsson, M. and Adolfsson, A. (2011) Mother’s need of support and their expectations of the BVC nurse at the first home visit—an interview study. Open Journal of Nursing, 1, 51-58. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2011.13007.