Background
Methods
Qualitative interviews
Participants
Data analysis
Ethical approval
Results
Family | Present in interview | Infant Sex | Infant’s gestational age at birth (weeks) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Mum | M | 38 |
2 | Mum | F | 34 |
3 | Mum & Dad | F | 30 |
4 | Mum | M | 32 |
5 | Dad | M | 40 |
Mum | M | 40 | |
6 | Mum | M | 30 |
7 | Mum | F | 27 |
8 | Mum | M | 38 |
9 | Mum | M | 37 |
10 | Mum | M | 31 |
11 | Dad | F | 31 |
12 | Mum | M | 33 |
13 | Mum | F | 25 |
14 | Mum | M | 36 |
15 | Mum | M | 31 |
Organisational Theme: Family Integration | Quotes |
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Basic themes: Parent-baby bonding | F8(M):And it's like, no, I have had a baby and it's there. That's my baby. So I just think mentally, psychologically it has loads of benefits. F10(M): Our baby was in a hospital which was about an hour from our house and because we also have a two-year-old toddler it meant we couldn’t be there all the time, or as early as we wanted in the evenings…so when it was mentioned that we could use it (livestreaming), we thought great! Cause then we can see him, then in the evening like say goodnight to him and that would be really sweet. I just thought that’s so great. F1(M): we’d all sit and watch him on a big screen eating breakfast, it was really…social F13(M): I could be pumping and you know, and doing my early morning expressing whilst watching the babies on my phone and I could feel kind of connected to them…that was really really beneficial |
Grandparents / wider family | F13(M): it was really super positive for them (grandparents) and, lovely for us as well, because you know, even though we could send still pictures, it's not the same as actually kind of getting to know the personalities of the babies and so even though there wasn't the sound, it was lovely for them to be able to interact and see, you know, start to learn the kind of babies personalities a little bit…we had them virtually babysitting, so we'd say, you know, we're having a shower at this point, or you know having some dinner, or, you know, getting to and from the hospital, so could you watch? Have a little look and see how they're doing, so that was really lovely, it was almost like a virtual babysitting service where they could just keep an eye on, in that way F4(M): it was both sets of grandparents and aunties…then there was a very close group of friends that we have…and we’re all really touched that we had offered it to them, and they got to feel connected with baby as well F6(M): they (wider family) used to watch him, even if I’m like, for example, I’m busy with my son…or I shower or something, I’d send the link to my sisters and I’d say, watch they baby until I finish showering, or cooking, or something like that |
Siblings | F10(M): we got a teddy from home and she (sibling) washed it for him and we took it in and we gave, we put it in his incubator, so that she could see that he had the teddy which was really helpful for her to see, like something she had that he had and kind of helps them, helped her like associate that teddy with the baby and what was going on 'cause it's hard for two year olds to get her head around F11(D): it as really good to have the webcam because, so each night before she (sibling) went to bed, cause the times worked out perfectly for this, she’d get to see baby and she’d give the phone a kiss and a cuddle before going to bed. So it was good for her to kind of get used to the idea of having a brother as well F6(M): when he (sibling) saw him on webcam, he would say oh my god, this is my baby, baby came out of your belly! So happy looking at him and moving his finger and moving his head and stuff like that. Mummy, come, come! He’s moving his finger! |
Organisational Theme: Livestreaming implementation | Quotes |
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Basic themes: Communication | F1(M): I was made aware that you know, if there's a doctor that needs to do something, the camera will be switched off or it will be turned away. So I did more often than not, see peoples feet and things, but I think I…it was all explained to me. I felt as though I was given, like, as soon as we signed up for the camera, I felt as though…the information sheet that you gave and, and also the nurse explained everything to me. So nothing came as a shock F12(M): (there is) a difference between the stress in person and the stress on the camera…because we couldn’t hear her, we didn’t know just how much, you know, distress she was in…in real life she might have just been going ahh and stretching but then on the camera, it looked like she was squealing in anguish, so we didn’t know what was going on F6(M): it’s always if his hand is in his face and the wires around his neck, I would be worried…and that is just worrying, until I came down after the 10 days (COVID isolation) and I saw the process and the nurses explained to be it’s just a wire around his chest that’s on his neck, and we’re seeing him and there is like the machines, I didn’t know all about that |
Initial set up | F3(M): We were told about the camera quite late like the third week…so she was in intensive care for two weeks and we never were suggested about that. And a Doctor at the third week in special care was making rounds and he told me…because he was the neonatal Doctor that got baby like when she was delivered. He took pictures of baby and sent them to print with someone and sent it to me, to have it with me when I went to postnatal ward and that was very helpful. I was grateful for that and I told him and he told me like yes, and that's why we have the cameras for watching the babies and I was like what cameras…I don't know about the cameras, and then we started F2(M): There was a technical difficulty at the very beginning and so I think I signed a form whilst I was still on labour ward and I was in a bit of, like a haze, so I don’t know if it was my fault or but then my email, either I’d not written it down right or it hasn’t been inputted right so we didn’t actually get it set up for a week |
Areas for improvement | F2(M): Somehow, if you made that sort of electronic or something and you could check, you know… Make sure it’s written correctly or something (email address). I didn't quite understand how it worked, 'cause I did follow up when, when I was on ITU, I did follow up and say, you know is the angel eye working and they just say oh you should get an email, should get an email, but I obviously didn't because it was typed wrong, so, um it just took a few days to kind of, you know log in and for it to work F13(M): the nurses were always really lovely and tried sort it out (livestreaming technical problems), but I think the problem is that they didn't always know. Not all the nurses had the expertise around it. I think different nurses have different levels of knowledge of how to, you know, problem solve, if there was an issue |
Organisational Theme: Parental control | Quotes |
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Basic themes:Emotional (themselves & others) | F8(M): Who do you give it to (login details for the live feed)? Do you give it to my mum and dad, do you give it to his mum and dad, my siblings. I just, you know, in, in that kind of time it's so stressful, and I didn't really want 1000 questions. What's that on her? And what's that wire about? Why those stickers on a chest? You know those kind of things are simple questions, but when you’re going through something so stressful, you just don't want hear it F1(M): I had a (family member) that was pregnant and I thought it would be wrong of me, you have to be a bit sensitive I guess, (baby) was all wired up and it might not have been pleasant to see…he was my baby and regardless of what he looked like, I wanted to see him, it might not have been pleasant for other people F3(D): Some days I would just be working and log in for a few minutes to see her specially before mum arrives, so she would leave our place and there will be like, I don’t know, an hour or half an hour window where until there she wouldn’t be there, but I would. Mum would not be in the hospital yet and then sometimes I would log in and check her. And yeah, it was reassuring in a way |
Situational | F2(M): I had a little bit of a long commute…to the hospital…I sort of want to get there really quickly to make sure she was ok, but actually I could log in on the train…I could just see, oh no, it’s fine, she’s alright F5(M): Then you’ve come in and you’ve got one member of staff, they’re doing something important and you think, ah I wish I could switch that camera on, I wish there was a button because I could turn it on and turn it off as I see fit! It’s my baby, what do you want people to see? I don’t need you to do it, I can flick it on, flick it off….the nurse that running that unit…she gotta get that baby fed, that one fed, boom boom boom, temperature checks…so you’re not gonna ask, you’re not gonna ask for the camera, I’m not anyway. We’re not going to ask F5(D): the only issue would be whether they were going to put the camera on so you know, my wife would phone up sometime the nurses and ask them to put it on and to a certain extent you know there may be an awkwardness about asking them to do it, because you can see they’re very busy |