Support Like a Walking Stick: Parent-Buddy Matching for Language and Culture in the NICU

Purpose: (1) To explore the experience of non-Englishspeaking mothers with preterm, very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (<1,500 g); and (2) to examine mothers' assessment of a peer support program matching them with linguistically and culturally similar parent-buddies. Design: An exploratory, qualitative analysis based on grounded theory. Sample: A convenience sample of eight mothers from four of the most prevalent non-English-speaking cultures (Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and Tamil) in an urban Canadian-teaching hospital. Main Outcome Variable: Non-Anglophone mothers' experience and support in the NICU. Results: Study mothers experienced intense role disequilibrium during the unanticipated crisis of preterm birth of a VLBW infant; situational crises owing to the high-tech NICU environment and their infant's condition; and developmental crises with feelings of loss, guilt, helplessness, and anxiety. Language barriers compounded the difficulties. Parent-buddies helped non-Englishspeaking mothers mobilize their strengths. Culture and language are important determinants of service satisfaction for non-English-speaking mothers. Linguistically congruent parent-to-parent matching increases access to service.