A safe bridge – parents’ and staff’s experiences of an antenatal visit introducing a home visiting program in disadvantaged areas

To explore parents’ and staff’s experiences regarding a novel visit in late pregnancy, involving the midwife, child health nurse, and social services, that had been added to a postpartum extended home visiting program. Qualitative interview study. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were carried out with twelve parents, ten nurses, eight social workers and nine midwifes. Nine of the participating parents were foreign-born; four of them required a translator. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim and the data was analyzed with thematic network analysis. The experiences are summarized in the Global Theme: ‘Overcoming challenges and creating a feeling of trust and care for the whole family’ and derived from the Organizing Themes: 1) Fear, stigma and unclear role of social services, 2) Challenges with logistics and roles, 3) Providing/having access to information and emotional support, 4) Getting a head start on the relationship. Both parents and staff noted that the antenatal visit facilitated trust transfer from the midwife to the child health nurse and social worker. Logistics were sometimes challenging without designated coordinators. The visit helped staff identify families’ specific needs and tailor the support accordingly. Getting a head start on the relationship was benefiting future home visits. Building trust and creating a sense of security are central aspects of introducing a home visiting program and the staff who will provide it during an antenatal visit, led by a midwife. A novel visit in late pregnancy, introducing the nurse and social worker who will carry out the home visits to the parents before childbirth, is an effective way of initiating a home visiting program, building trust between parents and staff. Adequate resources for logistics and administration are a prerequisite for implementing a common visit between agencies.