The National Institutes of Health funded a study surveying new mothers to inquire about the source of their infant care advice ranging from baby sleep positions to immunizations to breastfeeding. Sources of advice were classified as health care practitioners such as doctors and nurses, family members, and the media.
New Mothers Don’t Receive Infant Care Advice Says Study
With packed schedules and a completely different set of routines and responsibilities, new mothers may not be receiving appropriate attention from their physicians when it comes to advice on infant care according to a study in Pediatrics.
The study was conducted by researchers at Boston Medical Center, Boston University, and Yale University.
The Study of Attitudes and Factors
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The authors believe that the physicians may not offer the advice due to lack of knowledge of the recommendations or because the physician does not agree with it.
Physicians Should Offer More Time and Do So Equally
Another revelation of the study was that not all new mothers were treated equal. African American, Hispanic, and first time mothers were more likely to receive guidance from physicians than their white mother counterparts and mothers who had children already.
According to Marian Willinger, Ph.D.., of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), new mothers are more likely to listen to their physician’s advice.
"This survey shows that physicians have an opportunity to provide new mothers with much-needed advice on how to improve infant health and even save infant lives," Willinger said. Physicians should take the extra time for each new mother to explain proper infant care. Learning about infant care and its updated recommendations can save many newborn lives as well as help new mothers cope with the stress and joy that is
It relies on persuasive tactics to ensure compliance. Being medical-based, it aims to reduce morbidity and reduce premature mortality and is conceptualised around the absence of disease. As midwives do not regard pregnancy and child-birth as states of ill-health, its validity in midwifery care must be questioned (Dunkley, 2000a). The benefits of breastfeeding are well-documented (Appendix Two), however difficulties arise in making this information relevant and personal to each woman. Often, simply giving women ‘information’ makes little difference to them (Dunkley, 2000b).
Christine Le, an accountant living in Flushing, New York, gave birth to a healthy baby “Nathan” on January 29th, 2010. She found out that she was pregnant with her first child when her period was late. She had the routine prenatal care starting at 12 weeks and delivered at 40 weeks in a hospital with the present of her husband, Robert, and the in-laws. To insure her baby was healthy, Christine underwent several prenatal diagnostic methods like amniocentesis to examine for genetic defects. Another method was ultrasound; its purpose is to assess fetal age, multiple pregnancies, size and shape of the fetus. Christine underwent numerous lab tests to ensure that there are no complications (Berk, pg.43). Lab tests like a complete blood count that screens
For any mother the birth of a newborn child can be a challenging experience. As nurses it is part of our job to ensure their experience is positive. We can help do this by providing the information they will need to affective care for their newborn. This information includes topics such as, breastfeeding, jaundice, when to call your doctor and even how to put your baby to sleep. When the parents have an understanding of these topics before discharge it can largely reduce their natural anxiety accompanied with the transition to parenthood. Health teaching for new parents is seen as such an important aspect of care on post-partum floors it is actually a necessary component that needs to be covered before the hospital can discharge the
One part of parent of parent hood which can become frustrating is that everyone becomes an expert. The problem with this is that you feel what you are doing is wrong as opinions often conflict with each other and in most cases many opinions are old wives tales. Thankfully in my experience my mother in-law is a midwife and she was able to tell us what current opinion and research suggest is best but explained all is at own discretion.
Patients should be given information regarding the importance of prenatal care and availability of prenatal care for future pregnancies.
This research consisted of key informants and general informants. These general informants were leaders in the community, granny midwives and African American and European American health care professionals. These general informants came from the clinics and hospitals where key informants were from. The key informants from each region were women who were either pregnant or had a baby within in a year preceding the study. (Marjorie Morgan, 1996)
Prenatal care in the United States was not the way is today, there have been some improvements in regards to prenatal care. The number of pregnant women who received prenatal care has increased over the past 75 years (Zolotor and Carlough, 2014). Today, medical providers deliver more integrated services, which includes evidence-based screening, counseling, medical care, and psychosocial support.
Explain how access to health care can promote the health of women and their babies during pregnancy. Access to health carers such as midwives, doctors and obstetricians can promote the health of women and their babies during pregnancy. These professionals are able to provide support and information, as they monitor the mother’s health and wellbeing and that of the baby. In addition, they are able to identify special medical or personal requirements that the mother may need.
Early prenatal care is essential to mothers and babies. Doctors preferably see their pregnant patients around 8 weeks of pregnancy in which an initial evaluation is conducted which includes checking for sexually transmitted infections, they screen for gestational diabetes, and to find out when the due date is. When a woman comes in during the third trimester for an initial check-up, the due date is typically not accurate; which could result in preterm labour. Being born preterm has severe consequences, such babies are more at risk for respiratory distress syndrome, and later on in life diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Among the benefits of prenatal care is the ability to anticipate future or current problems; hence, it is essential to the health of both mother and child. Prenatal care allows health care providers to take timely measures to ensure the wellbeing of the mother and
In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services works tirelessly in order to improve the conditions for newborn infants. Their goal is to provide essential human services, as well as protect the health for all Americans. Specifically, the area of infant health focuses on the period of rapid development from birth to one year age. The factors that contribute to infant health is not only attributed to the child, but also extends to the health of the mother and their family support system as well. This area of healthcare is extremely important because it ensures the future health of the next generation. Infant health has many external factors, such as social, economic, and biological, that influence the well-being of the
The reason this current practice needs to be changed is patients do not have the same learning style, and the literacy level of the patient population varies greatly. In order to increase patient knowledge and satisfaction, this education needs to be meaningful to them as well as easy for them to access at any time they chose. Giving patients different options to receive the needed information will keep them engaged in their care. The prenatal population can vary greatly in age, literacy level, and learning styles that it is the clinics responsibility to ensure their learning needs are met. Because of the advances in technology and the needs of the patients changing this clinic needs to grow and evolve as
Nurses and midwives are able to enforce this strategy by holding or organising healthy cooking workshops so that the mothers can sustain a long term understanding of health. They can also organise support and breast feeding classes for mother and child before and after the child is born. Having these support groups not only helps mothers by getting health professionals advice and opinions, but also the support and friendship from other new
Healthy childbirth is defined as a safe, natural process that rarely requires medical intervention (Goer & Romano, 2012). The medical model of care, however, often includes interventions that are not supported by the evidence and can increase a woman’s risk of having a cesarean section. These intrusions into labor and birth often lead to what has been called the “cascade of interventions” (DeClercq, Sakala, Corry,
Regardless of healthcare and medical advances, birth outcome disparities continue to exist in the United States. In 2014, 1 out of 10 infant births were premature, correlating to over 380,000 infants born prematurely (Health 2016). The current national average for infant births before 37 weeks is 9.6% (Services 2010). Premature birth is identified as a birth that occurs before the 37- week gestation. During the preterm period, infants are placed at a high risk of death and developing disabilities that may cause permanent handicap. Mothers that give birth preterm may partake in risky behaviors such as smoking and drug usage, lack proper nutrition, and are burdened financially. Maternal education intervention programs centered around the Health Belief Model may have a positive impact on maternal care and prevent premature birth.
Prenatal care is widely accepted as an important element in improving pregnancy outcome. (Gorrie, McKinney, Murray, 1998). Prenatal care is defined as care of a pregnant woman during the time in the maternity cycle that begins with conception and ends with the onset of labor. A medical, surgical, gynecologic, obstretic, social and family history is taken (Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary, 1998). It is important for a pregnant woman as well as our society to know that everything that you do has an effect on your baby. Because so many women opt not to receive the benefits of prenatal care, our society sees the ramification, which include a variety of complications primarily