Comments on: Study: Postpartum Nurses Need More Education on Risks New Mothers Face /study-postpartum-nurses-need-education-risks-new-mothers-face/ Future of Nursing Mon, 09 Oct 2017 04:18:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0.10 By: Khadiza Begum /study-postpartum-nurses-need-education-risks-new-mothers-face/#comment-148 Mon, 09 Oct 2017 04:18:00 +0000 /?p=13829#comment-148 Mothers who nearly died in the hours and days after giving birth have repeatedly stated that their doctors and nurses were often slow to recognize the warning signs that their bodies weren’t healing properly (Martin, 2017). Recent researches found that many nurses were ill-informed about the dangers mothers face after giving birth. Needing more education themselves, they were unable to fulfill their critical role of educating moms about symptoms like painful swelling, headaches, heavy bleeding and breathing problems that could indicate potentially life-threatening complications.
Cardiovascular disease and heart failure account for more than a quarter of maternal deaths in this country. Nurses also said they spent very little time, usually 10 minutes or less, instructing new moms about warning signs of potential complications (Martin, 2017). The post-delivery education provided by nurses is particularly important because once a mother leaves the hospital, she typically doesn’t see her own doctor for four to six weeks. Figuring out the best way to instruct new mothers is all the more crucial because the first days after giving birth are emotionally charged and physiologically draining, hardly an ideal learning environment.
Another reason for the high rates of maternal mortality, is that postpartum nurses spent most of their time educating moms about how to care for their new babies, not themselves. The information mothers did receive about their own health risks was wildly inconsistent and sometimes incorrect. The written materials women took home often weren’t much better. Some nurses were uncomfortable discussing the possibility that complications could be life threatening. Some nurse states that they do not want to scare the woman (Kappel, 2017).
To combat this an expert panel developed two standardized tools: a checklist and script that nurses could follow when instructing new mothers and a one-page handout of post-birth warning signs that mothers could refer to after they returned home, with clear-cut instructions for when to see a doctor or call 911 (Kappel, 2017). Postpartum nurses need more education and training on risks new mothers face and how to use the two standardized tools to decrease the maternal mortality rate.

Refernece

Martin, P. N. (2017, August 17). Many Nurses Lack Knowledge Of Health Risks To Mothers After Childbirth. Retrieved October 08, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/17/543924405/many-nurses-lack-knowledge-of-health-risks-for-mothers-after-childbirth
Kappel, L. (2017, June 17). Learn These Post-Birth Warning Signs. Retrieved October 08, 2017, from http://www.health4mom.org/learn-these-post-birth-warning-signs

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