“A Baby is Like an Empty USB. Whatever You Do, They Store It”: A Qualitative Study of Caregiving Practices and Beliefs in Soweto, South Africa

The importance of nurturing care for children’s development has been emphasised in the global literature. Although societal risk factors which may hinder nurturing care in South Africa have been extensively documented, the goals, beliefs and practices of caregivers in infancy have received less attention in the literature. This qualitative study was conducted with mothers of children aged 6 to 10 months in Soweto, South Africa. Data were collected during four focus group discussions held in May 2023 with 26 mothers, then analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. We found that mothers view themselves as playing an active role in their children’s learning and development, and are broadly aware of the importance of nurturing care. Our findings also emphasise that nurturing care is bidirectional, and based on the relationship between caregivers and children, both of whom should be viewed as individuals. In contrast to the outcome-oriented nature of the Nurturing Care Framework (NCF), mothers in our sample reported enjoying their relationships with their children. This study contributes to relatively limited literature on infancy in South Africa and can help to inform context-appropriate interventions to improve early childhood development. However, participants were recruited from an ongoing trial and were engaged with health services, which may limit the transferability of findings to the broader population.