Postpartum questions!

[Scarlettz, BSN, RN]

Hello everyone. I work on a medical surgical unit. However, I have floated to postpartum here and there. I do enjoy floating to this unit. But, I feel somewhat inadequate and rusty on this specialty. This might be a unit that I would like to work someday. I do not have any children, nor do I have contact with many babies. So, sometimes I find it hard to answer questions when and if asked.

I guess my question is, what sort of questions do patients ask the most? Especially first time moms? And what response do you give them when asked?

I have also had women on this unit with total abdominal hysterectomies. What questions do they ask? What do you say? Any general info about the procedure and care of these pts?

Any other general statements, refreshers, advice, or comments about this unit or the pts on this unit? How about labs or lab values?

Thanks!

[j0yegan]

They ask a lot of questions about breastfeeding. We have lactation consultants to help with that, too. They also ask, "Is this normal?" a lot! Our patients get booklets about everything they need to know. I'm sure your patients do as well. Just take one home and read it. It's too much information to go over here. As far as labs go, we mostly look at H&H, WBCs, mag, etc. depending on the patient's situation.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

You do not need to be a mom or have experience with babies to be a great postpartum nurses. Many nurse on my unit are child-free and had little to no experience with babies when they first started. On orientation soak up as much information as you can. If you don't know an answer to a parents questions be honest and tell them and let you know that you will ask someone who does the answer. Trust me you will be fine.

[cb970308]

I've been an OB/GYN nurse for 5 years and we've just started doing couplet care. One question that I get a lot is about the bleeding. Moms always think it's more than it should be. It should be like a period, depending on if it's a lady partsl or C-section. It's normal for them to bleed, but there shouldn't be any heavy/ pouring bleeding. As far at the abdominal hysterectomies. If you can take care of a med/surge patient then these should be no problem. You'll want to watch for bleeding from the incision site as well as listen for bowel sounds. Chances are they will have a foley so you'll want to keep an eye on urine output.

[dykely]

One thing my preceptor encouraged me to do when I oriented to our MomBaby floor was to go through the discharge instructions that get sent home with patients. In our area we have several different groups of OB doctors as well as pediatricians. Each group has their own specific discharge instructions to be sent home with the patients. Though the exact format or amount of information changes with each group, the information is consistent. BABIES

how many pees/poos to expect? How much/how often to feed? How often to bathe? Most IMPORTANT- how to know when something is wrong/when to call the doctor.

MAMAS

bleeding, breast care, activity restrictions, again Most IMPORTANT how to know when something is wrong/when to call the doctor.

Being someone who has never had kids and family that lives far away- this information was worth it's weight in gold when I had the answer to their random questions- as well as the confidence knowing that it was the correct "physician approved" answer :-)

[Scarlettz, BSN, RN]

Thanks for all the advice! I love the idea of gathering pamphlets and reading over them. Breastfeeding questions often pop up and it is hard for me to answer these questions.