The proposed research is a qualitative component of a large randomized controlled trial (RCT) with adolescent mothers and their preterm infants who are 32 through 35 weeks gestation, 1500 less than or equal to 2500 grams, and healthy at birth. These preterm infants have the potential to stabilize physiologically, avoid admission to the neonatal intensive care unit, and develop normally, provide they stay with their mothers postbirth and receive a comprehensive model of nurse-supported, early, and continuous self-regulatory (ESCR) care. This comprehensive intervention includes the implementation of skin-to-skin (kangaroo mother care, KMC) care. Because the mother and her newborn infant are viewed as mutual caregivers, the mother is expected to benefit from KMC as well. The purpose of this phenomenological study is twofold: to describe the experiences of KMC and standard hospital care in adolescents who have given birth to preterm infants, and to compare these experiences. At ten minutes postbirth each mother-infant dyad will be randomly assigned either to the control group who will receive standard hospital care or the KMC group who will receive the KMC intervention. Once the infant is stable, KMC dyads will be transferred to the General Clinical Research Center where nursing care will be provided as needed. Qualitative data analysis will be used to interpret the data which will be collected postpartum Day 6 using a semi-structured formal interview approach. Mothers in each group will be asked to describe their experience of providing care for their preterm infants from birth through postpartum Day 6. Prompts taken from their responses will be used for additional clarification and questioning.
