Motherhood and Pre-Term Birth: Exploring First-Time Mothers’ Experiences of Others’ Pregnancies and Mother-Infant Attachment in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Keyte, Grace (2026) Motherhood and Pre-Term Birth: Exploring First-Time Mothers’ Experiences of Others’ Pregnancies and Mother-Infant Attachment in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Background: One in 13 babies in the UK are born prematurely each year. Many will require essential treatment from a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and may experience lifelong complications. For parents, this often unexpected start to parenthood can result in emotional distress. Birthing mothers may have unique experiences owing to their own personal recoveries post-birth. Less is known about the broader societal impacts of pre-term birth on motherhood identity and interpersonal experiences.

Method: This thesis portfolio consists of a systematic review and an empirical study. The systematic review included a narrative synthesis and appraisal of 12 research articles exploring factors that act as barriers and facilitators to mother-infant attachment in the NICU. The empirical study involved a qualitative exploration of 15 first-time mothers of very pre-term babies’ experiences of other women’s pregnancies, analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: The systematic review found that factors within the mother-infant dyad as well as structural and contextual factors beyond this influenced mother-infant attachment in the NICU. These includes five main concepts of: physical proximity between mother and baby, motherhood identity and role attainment, mother’s psychological experiences, the role of professionals, and the NICU environment. The empirical study found that pre-term mothers experiences of other’s pregnancies elicited complex emotional and interpersonal responses shaped by individual and wider societal structures linked to identity, social comparison and impacts of trauma.

Conclusion: Mothers of pre-term babies experience a complex interplay of individual and broader structural challenges that shape their identity and relationships.

Key words: Pre-term birth, motherhood, attachment, neonatal intensive care (NICU)

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	11 Nov 2026 10:59
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2026 10:59
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/105073
DOI:

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