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Table 3 Themes, categories and codes

From: Breastfeeding and humanitarian emergencies: the experiences of pregnant and lactating women during the earthquake in Abruzzo, Italy

Theme

Category

Code

Essential needs, basic services and security

Women’s feelings

- Fear of seismic shocks

- Fear for the safety of the fetus

- Need for stability and “return to normality”

Shelters and temporary accommodations

- Characteristics and conditions

- Keeping the woman close to her partner

- Keeping the woman close to a maternity facility

Community, partner and family support

Reconfiguration of relations

- Separation from partners

- Support from the family

- Positive effects of the relationship with the baby

Community

- Absence of the community to which women belong

- Social pressure

- Families perception of being a burden for the emergency response system

Mother-Infant focused, non-specialized support

Emergency personnel

- First aid personnel

- Health and psychosocial professionals

Emergency services and initiatives

- Aimed to family support

- Aimed to promote the psycho-social health

- Meeting areas for mothers and children

Specialized Maternal and Infant health care

Hospital care

- Welcoming care

- Acknowledging the specific needs due to emergency

- Feeling of being taken care of, together with the family

- Sharing the birth experience with other pregnant women

- “Old-fashion” breastfeeding hospital practices

Community services

- Breastfeeding support after hospital discharge

- Standard health care

IYCF-E

- Infant’s products and infant formula distribution

- Support and education on BMS reconstitution

- Infant formula supplies

  1. Abbreviations: IYCF-E Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies, BMS Breast Milk Substitutes