Background:
Preterm babies born below 32 weeks gestational age are placed in incubators, therefore deprived of exposure to maternal heartbeat sounds and breathing rhythms. The Babybe is a unique soft-robotics device which replicates these via the Babybe mattress in the incubator.
Aims:
Obtain data on the experience of mothers who participated in COSYBABY in relation to using the device and learn what, if any, value this device has to parents in the neonatal unit setting.
Methods:
We used qualitative focus groups conducted by our Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) leads and interviews with parents. We conducted framework analysis.
Findings:
Resulting themes included: willingness to try anything, Babybe supporting mothers, scepticism and searching for causality, limitations of the Babybe, and beyond the intervention.
Conclusions:
The Babybe provides socioemotional benefits to mothers of neonatal babies, even though health benefits to their baby are uncertain.