A Patient On The Postpartum Floor Essay

Postpartum depression is one of the most common complications of childbearing with an estimated prevalence of 19.2% in the first three months after delivery (1). Depressive episodes (major and mild) may be experienced by approximately half of women during the first postpartum year (1). Characterized by depressed mood, loss of pleasure or interest in daily activities, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, irritability, sleep and eating disturbances (2), its etiology is multi-faceted and complex (3;4).

Throughout my time on the Mother Baby Care Unit, I have faced many instances in which I have been able to reflect on both my patients and the care that I was providing them. One situation in particular that I found myself critically reflecting upon involved a new mother who was feeling slightly stressed about being discharged as her newborn son would not be going home with her. For confidentiality reasons, this patient will be given the pseudonym of Kayla for the remainder of this reflection.

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Giving myself time to read up on nursing experiences, attending more clinical practice labs, participating and watching these duties in the health care setting will allow me to develop a secure level of confidence the next time that this type of situation may occur. Staying in the room allowed me to experience the feeling of support while looking past social norms and how they are challenged. I met my personal values, and I believe that one should respect another person`s privacy. This understanding allowed me to be there to support the resident during her time of need. In the article `starting out` by Jane Schulz, a nursing student shares her experience of helping her colleague assist an elderly patient with daily care. Observing the compassion and care between nurse and patient from fundamental tasks, she took away a valued lesson of how our support and caring methods affect an individual. My relation to this story allowed me to reflect on the effects my care and supporting actions had on our patient.

This assignment describes my own reflective experience while caring for a sick neonate with Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS) in the neonatal unit. This has enabled me to explore the meaning and significance of my clinical practice and to recognise the complexities within it. The experience raises a number of issues frequently encountered in daily nursing practice. Within this assignment, I will be discussing a particular pre term baby with RDS and critically analyse the use of nasal continuous positive airways pressure (NCPAP) and surfactant therapy and possible effects on baby’s outcome. Pseudonyms will be used to maintain patient confidentiality in order to keep in with the nursing and midwifery council code of conduct. (NMC 2004)The

Introduces and defines the topic, as well as describes its importance to professional nursing. Depth and detail are fair. (19–20 points)

As of 2013, around 353,000 babies were born in one day, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Be Fruitful and Multiply). Delivering babies is very difficult and strenuous, luckily labor and delivery nurses are trained to help care for the mother during the process of welcoming her newborn into the world safely. Labor and delivery nurses play a very crucial role in helping the delivery of babies and bringing safety and peace to the mother. I am choosing to pursue a career as a labor and delivery nurse because they get to provide care to babies, they get paid well, and they get to assist in the delivery process.

While exercise may not be able to eliminate all of the discomfort associated with pregnancy, it can help with circulation, digestion, and constipation, as well as improve posture and muscle tone, which you will need to support joints that are loosened by various hormones as your body prepares for childbirth. Additionally, exercise can counteract the changes in body image and self-esteem that you possess. Most importantly, an appropriate exercise program can help prepare for the mental and physical demands of labor and delivery.

According to “Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America,” women and couples planning the birth of a child have decisions to make in variety of areas: place of birth, birth attendant(s), medication, preparedness classes, circumcision, breast feeding, etc. The “childbirth market” has responded to consumer concerns, so its’ important for prospective consumers to fully understand their options. With that being said, a woman has the choice to birth her child either at a hospital or at home. There are several differences when it comes to hospital births and non-hospital births.

This essay aims to reflect upon a particular episode of care during the postnatal period, using a reflective cycle as a guide. The author will firstly discuss reflection and its implications in midwifery practice. Teekman (2000) states reflecting on one’s professional practice as self-empowering as it provides us with a look into personal understanding and control. It is believed that if us as midwives are given the opportunity to reflect upon our professional practice, that this will aid us in enhancing our professional practice and enable us to become better practitioners (Schon, 1983). Reflection is an important process for midwives to be able to, not only deal with particular situations well, but to help us as professionals grow and

In 2001, Andrea Yates, a Texas mother, was accused of drowning her five children, (aged seven, five, three, two, and six months) in her bathtub. The idea of a mother drowning all of her children puzzled the nation. Her attorney argued that it was Andrea Yates' untreated postpartum depression, which evolved into postpartum psychosis that caused her horrific actions (1) . He also argued that Andrea Yates suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of her fourth child, and that she attempted suicide twice for this very disorder ((1)). What is postpartum depression, and how can it cause a mother to harm her very own children, altering her behavior towards her children in a negative way? One in ten women

In the professional setting, knowing the patient through his or her diagnosis, name, history of present illness, laboratory results or reason for staying in the hospital only contributes to the manner of physical care of the patient. However, recognizing the patient 's spiritual needs such as emotional support, mental positivity, and intellectual understanding of his or her situation gives a better assessment, as well as a trusting relationship between the nurse and the patient, as per personal experience. In the ward, it is evident that most of the staff nurses spend their time doing documentations, preparing medications, following-up laboratory requests, as well as reading through the patients ' charts to affirm the physician 's order. Throughout the duration of our shifts as student nurses, I see that the most that the staff nurses get to be conversant with the patient is when certain procedures (such as feeding through nasogastric tube, taking

Part of the caregiver or nurse's duty is to provide emotional support and understanding to the patient. Swanson (1993) proclaims that being with assures patients that their reality is appreciated and that the nurse is ready and willing to provide emotional support. Emotional support can come in many forms, such as providing a shoulder to lean on and listening attentively. By using the process of 'being with', nursing professionals can convey messages such as, "you are not alone, what happens to you matters and that we are here for you" (Swanson, 1993). Conveying these messages can help with the healing process and overall well-being of the patient by decreasing anxiety and providing the patient with a caring relationship when family support is unavailable.

Prenatal care is medical care for pregnant woman and is important for a healthy pregnancy. Its key components include regular checkups and prenatal testing, eating healthfully, exercising, and beginning as soon as one knows she is pregnant.

In our life, there is always a purpose to do things. Nurses take care of sick or well people and help them to make their lives better. The purpose of nurse is to make client physically, mentally and socially better. According to the international council of nurses (2010), nursing is to provide care by promoting health, preventing illness and caring ill, disabled and dying patient by promoting good environment and participating in making health policies. Weidenbach stated that the purpose of a nurse is to perform all the activities for the good of patient and achieve goals through his/her performance (Sante, 2011). A study by Holub et al. (2007) conducted to identify high risk of pregnancy in adolescents, it was found that adolescents with increased stress have difficulty in coping maternal and postpartum distress, and there was a need of support for prenatal and parenting services. In this case the role of nurse is to deliver the appropriate care such as education on nutrition, family planning, notifying health resources. So, nurse has to act decisively identifying patient’s need.