Need help with neonatal careplan

Hi.

Is the mother a multip or a nultip? Is the baby breastfeeding or bottle feeding? Does the mother have social supports? (Father, Grandparents). Mother's SES status? etc..

Here's some things I've used in the past (some of these may apply to your mother, but some may not because I'm at a high risk hospital)

Risk for impaired infant/child attachment R/T substance abuse or separation

Disturbed body image R/T striae, abdominal incision, episiotomy, vaginal trauma, breast size, perinatal weight gain

Risk for imbalanced body temperature R/T extremes of age (infant), exposure to cold/cool or warm/hot environments

Breastfeeding (effective, ineffective, interrupted).. there can be many R/T for this.

Parental role conflict

Deficient knowledge R/T infant feeding schedule, cord care, circumcision care (male infants), infant bathing, immunization schedule, pseudomenstration (female infants) etc etc etc Well-baby/Mother teaching is a BIG thing and would most likely be the center of your care plans.

Disorganized infant behavior (or readiness for enhanced)

Pain (think about postpartum pain management)

Impaired, risk for impaired, or readiness for enhanced parenting

Parental role conflict

Sleep deprivation R/T infant feeding schedule (newborns wake up a LOT)

Risk for sudden infant death syndrome

We need more information about the couplet in order to help you better.

You'd probably want to assess what she knows about breastfeeding. If she knows little, she would probably do best with teaching regarding positioning techniques, effective latching, what to do if the nipples become cracked or painful (breastfeeding should NOT be painful!), what to do if the breasts become engorged, and breastfeeding schedules (what to do when she will return to work). Think anticipatory guidance. Include the family in the teaching plan, particularly the FOB.

You need to re-read information on the newborn, especially assessment information. There is a newborn assessment link on this thread: http://allnurses.com/forums/f205/health-assessment-resources-techniques-forms-145091.html.

Newborns are not as "normal" as you think they are. First of all, they cannot maintain their body temperature which is why we keep them swaddled in blankets. Isn't that nursing problem you can care plan for? There are also issues of feeding. If the baby is breastfeeding there are 3 diagnoses for that which apply to both the baby and the mother and address effective, ineffective and interrupted breastfeeding, so your baby fits one of those categories. That's two nursing diagnoses right there that you can use for a "normal baby".

Your third diagnosis can be something like a Risk for Infection (related to the umbilical stump getting infected) or a problem of protection because their immune systems are undeveloped.