The Effect of Nursing Care Provided to Turkish Mothers of Infants Born With Cleft Lip and Palate on Maternal Attachment and Self-efficacy: A Quasi-Experimental Study

The present study evaluated the effect of the nursing care provided to the mothers of the infants born with a cleft lip and palate (CLP) until the time of cleft palate (CP) repair surgery, on maternal attachment and self-efficacy. The present study was designed as a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test control group design. The study included 32 mothers whose infants were born with CLP and had undergone CL repair surgery. Nursing care was provided to the mothers and the infants included in the study group through a total of seven home visits over a period of nine weeks. The data for the study were collected using a socio-demographic form, a home-care needs evaluation form, the Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI), and the Parental Self-Efficacy Scale (PSE). The scores for the mothers in the intervention group increased as the visits progressed, and it was observed that by the end of the ninth week, the difference between the mothers in the intervention group and those in the control group in terms of post-test MAI and PSE had become statistically significant. Providing nine weeks of home-based nursing care to the mothers and the infants has the potential of reducing the problems experienced by the mothers of infants born with CLP. Practice implications. Obtaining a better understanding of the barriers to the nursing care provided to the mothers of the infants born with CLP in-home setting would contribute immensely to the development of appropriate nursing-care practices. •Providing home‐based nursing care for mothers and infants during nine-week has the potential to reduce the problems experienced by the mothers of infants born with CLP•The provision of nursing care in the home improves parental self-efficacy, enhances maternal attachment, improves coping skills, and supports the maternal acquisition of information and skills related to the maternal care of infants born with CLP.•The emergence of outcomes with negative effects on the infant’s health is inevitable if the mothers of infants born with CLP are not well supported.