Background: About five percent of the infants being born in Sweden are cared for in a neonatal unit because of their prematurity. Breastfeeding and breast milk is considered to be the best nutrition for infants in general and for premature infants in particular. The premature infant, depending on how premature, may not be able to breastfeed effectively due to their immaturity. Stress, anxiety and fatigue are factors that affect breast milk production in a negative direction and these feelings are common in the neonatal unit.Aim: To illuminate mothers? experiences of breastfeeding the premature infant in the neonatal unit.Method: A literature review of eight studies with a qualitative research approach, published between the year 2000 and 2012 was conducted.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between adult attachment, denoted as mental representations of childhood experiences, and social relations. A secondary purpose was to examine the impact of prematurity on attachment and social relations in adult age. The study is part of a larger longitudinal study carried out by professor Karin Stjernqvist and Anne-Li Hallin, candidate for the doctorate, at the Department of Psychology, Lund University. Participants of the present study were 30 individuals randomly selected from the larger study. Of these, 16 individuals were premature born and 14 individuals were full-term born.

The aim of this literature review was primarily to describe how the nurse can involve the parents in the care for their premature baby, and secondly to describe the aim, design, method, population and quality of the reviewed studies. Searches have been made in different databases in order to find articles where the search words ?neonatal care?, ?neonatalvård?, ?premature infants? and ?nurse? were included. The literature review was based on 12 scientific articles. The results of the study were divided into six categories; The nursing staff?s relation to the parents, Support group, ?Home-early program?, Decision-making, A work in progress and A safe and efficient method.

Background: Breastfeeding frequency decrease in Sweden and infants born preterm is a particularly vulnerable group to not be breastfed according to current recommendations. Mothers of preterm infants have an extra need of support from the health care system. Mothers' self-efficacy in breastfeeding affects the outcome of breastfeeding. Health professionals' attitudes to breastfeeding have an impact on the breast feeding support they provide to the mothers.Aim: To investigate whether an intervention could strengthen self-efficacy in breastfeeding among mothers of premature babies. A further aim was to investigate whether the intervention influenced health professionals' attitudes to breastfeeding.Method/Design: An experimental study with quantitative approach in the form of questionnaire survey was conducted.

Background: Breastfeeding frequency decrease in Sweden and infants born preterm is a particularly vulnerable group to not be breastfed according to current recommendations. Mothers of preterm infants have an extra need of support from the health care system. Mothers' self-efficacy in breastfeeding affects the outcome of breastfeeding. Health professionals' attitudes to breastfeeding have an impact on the breast feeding support they provide to the mothers.Aim: To investigate whether an intervention could strengthen self-efficacy in breastfeeding among mothers of premature babies. A further aim was to investigate whether the intervention influenced health professionals' attitudes to breastfeeding.Method/Design: An experimental study with quantitative approach in the form of questionnaire survey was conducted.

Background: Breastfeeding frequency decrease in Sweden and infants born preterm is a particularly vulnerable group to not be breastfed according to current recommendations. Mothers of preterm infants have an extra need of support from the health care system. Mothers' self-efficacy in breastfeeding affects the outcome of breastfeeding. Health professionals' attitudes to breastfeeding have an impact on the breast feeding support they provide to the mothers.Aim: To investigate whether an intervention could strengthen self-efficacy in breastfeeding among mothers of premature babies. A further aim was to investigate whether the intervention influenced health professionals' attitudes to breastfeeding.Method/Design: An experimental study with quantitative approach in the form of questionnaire survey was conducted.

The objective for this Master?s thesis is to study literary programs for infants at six Swedish public libraries, their relevance and importance for infants and how the infant?s perspective in the program design and implementation is taken into consideration. The questions I pose are: In which way do the programs take the infants need for development and their literary prerequisites into consideration? Which functions can the programs have for infants? I have used a qualitative method, based on deep interviews with six library staff, working with literary programs. A model was developed based upon Daniel Stern?s theories of the interpersonal world of the infant together with Joseph Appleyard?s reading development theory.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the functions of the public library for parents of infants and how they see the ideal library. The research questions are: How do parents of infants use the library and what are their experience of it? What opinions and wishes do parents of infants have regarding the library? How can library services be developed to better match the needs of the parents of infants? The theoretical approach is based on Marianne Andersson and Dorte Skot-Hansen?s model of the public library?s functions and the model of classification by Ellen-Merete Duvold and Gunnar Sæbø. To answer my research questions I have carried out three focus-group interviews with parents of infants. The study revealed that the public library functions as a cultural centre, a social centre, a knowledge centre and, to a certain extent, an information centre for the parents.

Background: Almost every 20th child is borne premature in Sweden, before the parents are ready to care for a new family member. The parents need to cope with the stress and anxiety of having their newborn child in the neonatal ward and influenced by nursing care of neonatal staff grow their parental role.Purpose: The aim of this study was to illustrate experiences of parenthood within the care of premature at the neonatal ward.Method: A review where 18 articles between 2000 and 2005 were chosen and examined. The articles were analysed according to VIPS, which facilitates the practical use of the result.Result: The study reveals that parenthood is experienced as a time dependent process with three phases, primary, secondary and tertiary, where the parent?s needs and experiences changed character. The parents experienced that they developed from passive to active in the care of the premature child when the neonatal staff guided their participation, gave information/education and support.

A stay in the neonatal intensive care unit of greater than 5 days is one of the identified risks ofa sensorineural hearing loss. Preterm infants usually have at least one risk factor for hearingimpairment. The period from 25 weeks' gestation to 5 to 6 months of age is most critical tothe development of the auditory system. We think it is important to investigate hearingimpariment among infants born preterm, degree and type of hearing loss, risk factorsassociated with hearing loss and how the auditory system may be affected by preterm birth.ObjectiveA critical review of the current literature including studies of preterm infants born betweengestonal age 25-37. Our aim is to identify the most common type and degree of hearing lossamong infants born preterm and if there is an association between hearing loss and pretermbirth.MethodA literature search of Scopus and Pubmed resulted in 16 articles from 2000-2015ResultsMost of the infants in this study had a severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss.

In recent years there has been an upsurge in products and activities designed for infants, what is known as baby culture. The essay is a discourse analysis covering the part of baby culture which is concerned with infants and books. The essay studies texts from libraries and children?s bookclubs in order to understand what it is they communicate, to whom and the conceivable consequences of the communicated message. One of the main purposes of the study is to determine what view of infants as social and cultural beings it  is that arises from the texts.

Syfte. Undersöka användningen av kängurumetoden hos extremt för tidigt födda barn.Bakgrund. Kängurumetoden (KM) är en evidensbaserad metod som innebär att barnet bärs hud mot hud på förälderns bröst i upprätt ställning. Metoden har många fördelar för det för tidigt födda barnet och har visat sig vara effektiv för att skapa starka band föräldrar och barn emellan. Forskning visar att det är en säker vårdmetod även för extremt för tidigt födda barn.

The danger and vulnerability associated with a preterm birth seem to be closely correlated with a dysfunction of the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, whose maturation in the foal is without a doubt as delicate as it is important. Not only is this endocrine cascade vital for the foal in order to cope with neonatal stress, it also appears to be fundamental for the final fetal intrauterine maturation, as well as for the onset of foaling. Equine gestation exhibits some rather unique features, indicating a somewhat different significance of the endocrine changes associated with HPA maturation, compared to many other species. This hormonal cascade is rapid and confined to a narrow time during late gestation in the horse, and the risk of the foal completely missing it therefore becomes prominent. Induced parturition in the mare may be operated through uterotonic agents, which occasionally bring about premature foals. Desirable seems the ability to initiate equine labour while simultaneously enhancing fetal HPA maturation, as in humans and ruminants through perinatal glucocorticoid administration. However, similar treatment in the horse has resulted in various, sometimes fatal, outcomes. In the light of the distinctive features of equine gestation, difficulties are encountered following such administration of glucocorticoids and ACTH.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine health professionals´ experiences of giving advice regarding sleep to parents of infants and to perform and evaluate an intervention in the form of introducing information about the sleep of infants.Method: The study was designed as an intervention study with a qualitative approach where data was collected from two focus groups in the form of interviews. The intervention consisted of the information material Sugen på sömn. There were five participants whom three of them participated in the second interview. The interviews were processed by content analysis.Results: Health professionals´ experience of giving advice on sleep was summarized in three themes. The experiences of giving advice in interaction with parents, health professional themselves experienced the power to influence the parents with the advice they gave, while the parents' previous experience and knowledge impacted on how the advice came into practice.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine health professionals´ experiences of giving advice regarding sleep to parents of infants and to perform and evaluate an intervention in the form of introducing information about the sleep of infants.Method: The study was designed as an intervention study with a qualitative approach where data was collected from two focus groups in the form of interviews. The intervention consisted of the information material Sugen på sömn. There were five participants whom three of them participated in the second interview. The interviews were processed by content analysis.Results: Health professionals´ experience of giving advice on sleep was summarized in three themes. The experiences of giving advice in interaction with parents, health professional themselves experienced the power to influence the parents with the advice they gave, while the parents' previous experience and knowledge impacted on how the advice came into practice.