Family midwives. Subjective impact on infant's and mother's health from the perspective of accompanied mothers

Early intervention appears to be effective in terms of primary prevention for infants born to vulnerable families. Family midwives increasingly provide support for these families during the first year of life. The study investigates acceptance, availability, cooperation among providers and satisfaction of the clients. Health promotion for mothers and their infants is the overall goal of the program. Within a design of qualitative interviews and/or standardized questionnaires a sample of 67 families, 11 family midwives, 9 providers in other professions, 50 counseling services and 7 hospitals were involved. The results show that both acceptance and availability of family midwives ranked high within the views of service users. Health promotion, with a focus on the health of babies, was named as special trait of the support given by family midwives, associated with psychosocial support. A wide range of maternal needs and different forms of support received by the mothers was reported. Case control studies should follow.