The Influence of Neonatal Nursery Design on Mothers' Interactions in the Nursery

• We examine perceptions of mothers' interactions in single family room and open bay nurseries.
• Single family rooms provide privacy and enhance maternal–infant closeness.
• Single family rooms change the norms of mothers' interactions in the nursery.
• Need to address potentially detrimental effect of single family rooms on mothers' interactions.

ObjectiveThis study examined the influence of neonatal nursery design on interactions between nurses and mothers of infants in the nursery.Design and methodsWe used a natural quasi-experimental design, using semi-structured interviews and a structured measure of mothers' and nurses' perceptions of nursing care, to compare mothers (n = 26 and n = 40) and nurses (n = 22 and n = 29) in an open-bay (OB) nursery and a single family room (SFR) nursery. Thematic analysis was used to generate key themes from the interviews.ResultsMothers and nurses in both nursery designs talked about Valuing interactions; the importance of interactions between mothers and nurses. Mothers and nurses described SFRs as providing a space, My/their room, which enhanced mothers' sense of control and connection with the infant. SFRs were also associated with Changing the norms of interactions with nurses and other mothers, which created challenges in the desired quantity and quality of interactions for mothers and nurses. Nurses in the SFR nursery also reported Enhanced interactions, including improved confidentiality and personalized communication. Mothers in the OB nursery reported more supportive mothering actions from nurses than mothers in the SFR nursery. Both mothers and nurses in the OB nursery also talked about Our nursery community, which captured the value of having other nurses and mothers in the rooms.ConclusionMothers and nurses perceived that the SFR nursery enhanced privacy and maternal closeness for mothers compared to the OB nursery. However, the SFR nursery design presented challenges to some interactions of value to nurses and mothers.