Parenting experiences of mothers of moderate-to-late preterm children in South Korea: a qualitative study

PURPOSE: This study investigated the parenting experiences of mothers of young children born moderate-to-late preterm (MLPT) in South Korea. METHODS: In this qualitative study, semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with 10 mothers of MLPT children from infancy to preschool age. The interviews were video-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Four categories resulted from the analysis of parenting experiences of mothers with young MLPT children, as follows: "becoming a mother of an early-born child", "difficulties as the primary caregiver for a high-risk child", "helpful social support, but still a lack of professional support for parenting a high-risk child", and "mothers and children growing together". CONCLUSION: Mothers of young MLPT children experienced difficulties due to concerns about their child's health, growth and development, and insufficient child-rearing support. Therefore, social support systems should be strengthened and more aggressive nursing strategies should be adopted for mothers of young MLPT children.