Multidisciplinary Team Perceptions on Preparing Newborns for Discharge From a Rooming-in Unit: A Qualitative Study

Background Rooming-in is recommended by the World Health Organization as part of essential newborn care and plays a key role in promoting maternal-infant bonding, breastfeeding, and continuity of care from hospital to home. Despite evidence supporting multidisciplinary discharge planning and parental preparation, the discharge process of newborns remains complex and may be influenced by organizational structures, professional roles, and communication practices within healthcare teams. Limited evidence is available on how multidisciplinary teams perceive and manage newborn discharge preparation in rooming-in settings.Aim To explore the perspectives of a multidisciplinary team engaged in the preparation of newborns for discharge from a rooming-in facility. Specifically, this study aims to identify the experiences of Brazilian healthcare professionals to improve the entire transition of care from hospital to home.Methods A qualitative study took place in Brazil from January to October 2020. Nineteen healthcare professionals participated in this research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted following the framework methodology. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.Findings Three themes were identified from the data extracted and conceptualized for showing the critical moment of discharging a newborn: (1) Responsibility on the discharge of women and newborns from the hospital; (2) Leadership and shared information about healthcare practices; (3) Transition from hospital care to care at home. One sub-theme emerged concerning breastfeeding.Conclusion Findings highlight that the discharge process of the mother-infant dyad is largely perceived as physician-led, with limited interdisciplinary involvement in decision-making and parental education. This gap underscores the need to strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration and to establish standardized discharge procedures to ensure comprehensive and consistent parental counseling.