postpartum education offers a crucial opportunity to put
interventions with patients and their families. The ultimate goal of
this education is avoiding major complications and ensuring a
smooth transition home for the new mother and her baby.
postpartum education, Mahoney says. To personalize the message
effectively, the patient and her family must be understood from their
cultural and social backgrounds, as well as from the community to
which they belong.
mother and her significant others needs to develop and share the in-
formation in a way that is accessible to all the members who need to
be reached--the patient, and the persons in her family who may play
a role in caring for the new baby or the mom when she returns
home. All of this information, says Mahoney, needs to be delivered in
a way that is meaningful and useful to the patient and is altered by
the feedback the patient and her family give the educator.
ing the health of the mother and baby. Information must be able to
be updated as new evidence in best practices requires. It must also
change with the health care needs of the medical center's regional
population and be culturally appropriate for that population.
be delivered one-on-one, carefully following several steps:
Have the information in the language the patient understands.
they can review them at home.
goal of complication avoidance is met, since families not only will
receive the information vital to maternal and newborn care, but they
will be able to share that information effectively with the others who
need it, she says.
providers delivering educational messages need to be able to
evaluate patient responses to discharge instructions, Mahoney says:
Is the patient understanding the important messages and information
you are trying to relate? It is critical to help provide guidance to the
new parents in teaching them how to take care of this new person.
make it easier to identify what is wrong--or may be wrong--with
her baby or herself, as well as to empower the women to always tell
the provider about problems or concerns they may have. Patients and
family members should clearly understand when to call the doctor's
office and what to call about, as well the language they need to use
when they call (e.g., "I'm very concerned..."). Health care providers,
in turn, have the responsibility to be welcoming when patients or
family call, and respond to those concerns.
and ensuring that this education
is reaching patients and their family is
vital in preventing readmissions and
helping ensure maternal child safety.