Midwifery Essentials: Postnatal E-Book

Jennifer Hall, Helen Baston

Description

'Postnatal' is the fourth title in the Midwifery Essentials series and explores contemporary postnatal care for women and their families, exploring the role of the midwife as a member of the multi-professional team. This book thoroughly prepares the reader to provide safe, evidence-based, woman-centred postnatal care for mothers and their babies.

• The postnatal examination of the woman, and the baby check
• Care of the baby in the immediate postnatal period
• The features of the normal neonate
• The newborn clinical examination
• Hospital postnatal care and caesarean section
• The role of the community midwife and emotional wellbeing
• Postnatal fertility control
• Issues involved in supporting the woman to feed her baby.

• The postnatal examination of the woman, and the baby check
• Care of the baby in the immediate postnatal period
• The features of the normal neonate
• The newborn clinical examination
• Hospital postnatal care and caesarean section
• The role of the community midwife and emotional wellbeing
• Postnatal fertility control
• Issues involved in supporting the woman to feed her baby.

Sujets

• Perinatal
• Women's Health
• Medical
• Médecine
• Nursing
• Maternity

Informations

• Publié par: Churchill Livingstone
• Date de parution: 02 septembre 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9780702042560
• Langue: English

Extrait

Table of Contents

Cover image
Copyright
Foreword
Preface
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Postnatal care
Chapter 3. Care of the baby at birth
Chapter 4. Examination of the newborn
Chapter 5. Hospital postnatal care
Chapter 6. Postoperative care following caesarean
Chapter 7. Postnatal care in the community
Chapter 8. Emotional wellbeing following birth
Chapter 9. Fertility control advice after birth
Chapter 10. Supporting the mother to feed her baby
Index
Copyright
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Rights Department: phone: [phone] (US) or ([phone] (UK); fax: [phone]; e-mail: [e-mail] . You may also complete your request on-line via the Elsevier website at http://www.elsevier.com/permissions .
First published 2009
ISBN 978-0-443-10356-8
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

Notice

Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our knowledge, changes in practice, treatment and drug therapy may become necessary or appropriate. Readers are advised to check the most current information provided (i) on procedures featured or (ii) by the manufacturer of each product to be administered, to verify the recommended dose or formula, the method and duration of administration, and contraindications. It is the responsibility of the practitioner, relying on their own experience and knowledge of the patient, to make diagnoses, to determine dosages and the best treatment for each individual patient, and to take all appropriate safety precautions. To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the Editors assumes any liability for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising out or related to any use of the material contained in this book.
Printed in China
For Elsevier:
Commissioning Editor: Mairi McCubbin
Development Editor: Sheila Black
Project Manager: Christine Johnston, Morven Dean
Designer: Charlotte Murray, Kirsteen Wright
Illustrations Manager/Illustrator: Merlyn Harvey
Foreword
Julie Wray

When I reflect back on my own midwifery training in the 1980s I am struck by the lack of theory and minimal literature dedicated to postnatal care. This is something that has always bemused me, considering that midwives have had almost exclusivity within postnatal practice and that they lead within this aspect of childbirth. Interestingly, some years later, in 1997, the Audit Commission highlighted that many women in England and Wales found postnatal care to be the least satisfying aspect of their maternity care experiences. Profoundly, it took women who participated in the Audit Commissions survey to highlight difficulties with postnatal care provision. For the most part the hospital stay featured more negatively but nevertheless this finding rang alarm bells within maternity care and the midwifery profession.
In parallel, evidence emerged to support the notion that postnatal care is often viewed as a low priority amongst midwives ( Bondas-Salonen 1998 ). Clearly a dissonance between the profession and women’s experience has existed for many years. A contributing factor could arguably be a lack of supporting literature to underpin and guide practice. Most recently maternity care policy, including NICE guidelines, has however, attempted to address the evidence void by producing specific guidance for practice, which is very welcome, and this policy context is referred to in the book.
I am delighted that Helen Baston and Jenny Hall have taken the initiative and put together a practical, easy-to-read, unique book on postnatal care. This book has huge potential for learning. Both student midwives and practising midwives will benefit, as will the women and families for whom they care.
From my own perspective, postnatal care has had much appeal and I have enjoyed working in this area. I have published papers questioning the use of the metaphor ‘Cinderella’ in connection with postnatal care, as have others, and have undertaken research in this area. It was in 2003 that I first wrote in The Practising Midwife about my concerns regarding postnatal care ( Wray 2003 )and Helen Baston published a useful paper on postnatal care under the auspice of Midwifery basics in 2004 ( Baston 2004 ). Interestingly, in the April 2009 issue of the journal, the front cover headlined ‘The Cinderella service: postnatal care’, which infers as Jenny Hall has said that ‘nothing has changed’. Thus the publication of this book is extremely pertinent and places postnatal care on the map. It emphasises best practice and offers a useful model, the Jigsaw Model, to inform, guide and underpin postnatal practice.
It is my pleasure and honour to recommend this contemporaneous book and hope that like me you will find it very useful, enlightening and thus a core text for midwifery – enjoy!
Salford, 2009

References

Baston, H, Midwifery basics: postnatal care, principles and practice , The Practising Midwife 7 ( 11 ) ( 2004 ) 40 – 45 .
Bondas-Salonen, T, New mothers' experiences of postnatal care – a phenomenological follow-up study , Journal of Clinical Nursing 7 ( 1998 ) 165 – 174 .
Wray, J, Do we care or is it an afterthought? Postnatal care–the good and the bad , The Practising Midwife 6 ( 4 ) ( 2003 ) 4 – 5 .
Preface
Helen Baston

Jenifer Hall

To contribute to the provision of sensitive, safe and effective maternity care for women and their families is a privilege. Childbirth is a life-changing event for women. Those around them and those who input into any aspect of pregnancy, labour, birth or the postnatal period can positively influence how this event is experienced and perceived. In order to achieve this, maternity carers continually need to reflect on the services they provide and strive to keep up-to-date with developments in clinical practice. They should endeavour to ensure that women are central to the decisions made and that real choices are offered and supported by skilled practitioners.
This book is the fourth volume in a series of texts based on the popular ‘Midwifery Basics’ series published in The Practising Midwife journal. Since their publication, there have been many requests from students, midwives and supervisors to combine the articles into a handy text to provide a resource for learning and refreshment of midwifery knowledge and skills. The books have remained true to the original style of the articles and have been updated and expanded to create a user-friendly source of information. They are also intended to stimulate debate and require the reader both to reflect on their current practice, local policies and procedures and to challenge care that is not woman-centred. The use of scenarios enables the practitioner to understand the context of maternity care and explore their role in its safe and effective provision.
There are many dimensions to the provision of woman-centred care that practitioners need to consider and understand. To aid this process, a jigsaw model has been introduced, with the aim of encouraging the reader to explore maternity care from a wide range of perspectives. For example, how does a midwife obtain consent from a woman for a procedure, maintain a safe environment during the delivery of care and make the most of the opportunity to promote health? What are the professional and legal issues in relation to the procedure and is this practice based on the best available evidence? Which members of the multi-professional team contribute to this aspect of care and how is it influenced by the way care is organized? Each aspect of the jigsaw should be considered during the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of woman-centred maternity care.
Midwifery Essentials: Postnatal is about the provision of safe and effective postnatal care. It comprises ten chapters, each written to stand alone or be read in succession. The introductory chapter sets the scene, exploring the role of the midwife in the context of professional and national guidance. The jigsaw model for midwifery care is introduced and explained, providing a framework to explore each aspect of postnatal care, described in subsequent chapters. Chapter 2 explores the principles and practice of postnatal care. It describes the common features of the postnatal examination of the woman and the examination of the baby performed by the midwife. Chapter 3 focuses on the care of the baby in the immediate postnatal period and describes the features of the normal neonate. Chapter 4 goes on to detail the newborn clinical examination that is performed by the paediatrician (and increasingly the midwife/nurse who has undergone further education) within the first 72 hours of life. Chapter 5 focuses on hospital postnatal care and Chapter 6 builds on this, examining the specific needs of women who have undergone caesarean section. In Chapter 7 the role of the community midwife in the provision of postnatal care at home is discussed, followed by Chapter 8 , which focuses on postnatal emotional wellbeing. In Chapter 9 , the issues around postnatal fertility