Diagnosing Postpartum Patients

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Hi there everyone :) I am a male student nurse and I love nursing so much

Can anyone help me with proper diagnosis of my clients for making an appropriate nursing care plan?

1. Thinks she got really fat and doesn't look good but told me that everything will go back to normal if she takes her Multivitamins.

2. Having a problem taking care of her baby well because no one would teach her hands-on care. Her mother died when she was 4.

3. Sleep disturbances attending baby's needs.

btw she is already a mulipara

additional diagnoses would really be appreciated, thank you

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Specializes in LTC.

What diagnosiss do you have so far?

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Specializes in School Nursing.

I'm not a nurse yet but I can tell you my experience of PPD, and my nurse recognized it and between her a my doctor I was released from the hospital knowing more about PPD than I ever thought I'd need.

I was a zombie. Seriously, I felt like I'd been hit by a train and everyone noticed it. I was not the glowing new mom one expects to be.. I was terrified of being in charge of the life of this tiny, helpless person. It was scary, overwhelming, and I could do was cry. The nurse noticed it, notified the doctor and they gave me literature on how to deal with it once we were home and what to do if it got worse. It did, and they were wonderful about calling in meds in the middle of the night and monitoring me closely.

It impressed me that my nurse recognized something was wrong and took action. Before having my son, I hadn't given PPD any thought at all.

PPD moms are scared more than anything. We don't know why we aren't feeling all those euphoric feelings of love and parenthood everyone told us we would the moment the child was born. For me those feels came.. it just took a couple of weeks.. it wasn't instantaneous.

Anyway- kudos to you for being an awesome nurse ready to help this new mom out in ways she will never forget.

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Thank you Ma'am for that wonderful sharing that you have given me :) I hope I can help more mothers like you. I never thought of PPD like that, I should thank my Mom right now for staying strong *laughs* God bless Ma'am!

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“Postpartum belly” or “Baby bulge” is caused by laxity of the abdominal wall due to cycles of weight gain and weight loss following birth giving it a loose and flabby appearance.

Sudden drop in the level of estrogen and progesterone decreases salt and water retention in the kidneys causing diaphoresis. Consequently the skin loses its turgor and may appear dry and dehydrated.

Both conditions can be embarrassing and may pose risk for developing poor body image.

Drop in progesterone levels which elevates the mood during pregnancy may contribute to feelings of depression about physical appearance.

I just made this earlier, do you think I found her problem? :D thanks

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Specializes in ER.

sounds like a nursing care plan issue for school you're trying to solve?

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Yup, but working on it really hard. :)

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If you're doing a care plan, then you're looking for nursing diagnoses, no? If so, what are the diagnoses you have come up with. What you have written above may be true and may apply in this situation but are not nursing diagnoses. If you write what you've come up with, maybe we can help you tweak them.

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Ok here it goes Ma'am, these are the two that I have made:

1. Risk for situational low self-esteem related to disturbed body image

2. Sleep deprivation related to sustained environmental stimulation and uncomfortable sleep environment

the one I have written above is the scientific rationale for number 1, now I am working on the interventions for the the 2 identified problems :)

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