Introduction
The postpartum period, which starts about an hour after the delivery of the placenta and the following six weeks, is a critical time for a woman (WHO, 1998). Though the first hours, days and weeks after childbirth are hazardous for both mother and newborn, inadequate postpartum care was widespread all over the world (WHO, 2010). In Myanmar, approximately 1.3 million women give birth each year. Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) per 1000 live births in the country is 3.16 in 2004-2005, 1.4 in urban and 3.63 in rural areas (Ministry of Health, 2009a, Ministry of Health and UNICEF, 2006). Myanmar is one of the four countries with high MMR in UNFPA South and South-East Asia region (Ministry of Health, 2009b). According to nationwide cause specific maternal mortality survey (2004-2005), postpartum haemorrhage is a leading cause of maternal death (30.98%). Maternal mortality due to puerperal sepsis was 7.04% (Ministry of Health and UNICEF, 2006). These can be reduced by proper postnatal care with adequate considerations of cultural beliefs and practices during postpartum. Postpartum beliefs and practices may be neutral, beneficial and harmful effects and these may act as barriers for receiving professional guidance. {Myanmar postpartum beliefs and Practices} One of the components of Reproductive Health Policy (2002) in Myanmar is identification of effective socio-cultural practices beneficial for reproductive health (Department of Health, Myanmar 2004). Many international studies highlighted traditional postpartum beliefs and practices (Lee, R.V. et al 1988, Steinberg 1996, Liu et al. 2006, Craig, 2009, Harvey and Buckley 2009). However, there have been a handful of documents on postpartum beliefs and practices in Myanmar. Th...
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...partum practices among Vietnamese mothers in Anthi district, Hung Yen province. http://www.sh.mahidol.ac.th/hssip/theses/2002/3.pdf.
Ulin, P.R., Robinson, E. T., Tolley, E. E., 2005. Logistics in the field. In: Qualitative methods in public health: A field guide for applied research. Family Health International, Jossey-Bass, Sanfrancisco, pp. 123-124.
Wang, X., Wang, Y., Zanzhou, S., et al., 2008. A population-based survey of women's traditional postpartum behaviours in Northern China. Midwifery, 24, 238-245.
World Health Organization., 1998. Postpartum care of mother and newborn: a practical guide. Maternal and Newborn Health, Safe Motherhood Unit, Division of Reproductive Health, World Health Organization, Geneva.
World Health Organization., 2010. WHO Technical consultation on postpartum and postnatal care. Department of making pregnancy safer. WHO/MPS/10.03.
The focus of this paper is to discuss the different characteristics of the two most effective methods of child births: Natural births and Cesarean section (C-section). Child birth includes labor and delivery; the entire process of passage from the womb, to the birth canal, to the outside world. Natural birth is a method of child birth in which medical interventions are minimal and the mother usually practices relaxation and breathing techniques to minimize pain during delivery. Cesarean section (c-section) is a method of birth which involves delivery through incisions in the abdominal walls and uterus. Natural births and C-sections both pose documented medical risks to the mother’s health including infections and other medical mishaps (Rowe- Murray 2002).
Since neonatal nursing is my special interest and field, I chose to write about the health care options which are available to parents having children in different hospitals throughout the world. With the state of the art technological advances in the neonatal units, there are so many options available for the care of newborn babies. I reviewed the neonatal units in Australia, Saudi Arabia, New York, Tokyo, Ireland, and California, and I have learned what It takes to run a neonatal intensive care unit all around the world.
Lowdermilk, D. L., Perry, S., Cashion, K., & Alden, K. R. (2012). Maternity & women's health care (10th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
When a woman gives birth to a child, it can be one of the most joyous and exciting moments in her life, yet it can also be diff...
Having a child can be the happiest moment of a person’s life. A sweet little baby usually gives new parents tremendous joy. That joy can be accompanied with anxiety about the baby and the responsibility the new parents are faced with. The anxiety, in most cases, fades and joy is what remains. For some new mothers, however, the joy is replaced with a condition known as postpartum depression. “Postpartum depression is a serious disorder that until recently was not discussed in public…Women did not recognize their symptoms as those of depression, nor did they discuss their thoughts and fears regarding their symptoms” (Wolf, 2010). As such, postpartum depression is now recognized as a disorder harmful to both mother and infant, but, with early detection, is highly treatable with the use of psychotherapy, antidepressants, breastfeeding, and other natural remedies, including exercise.
Worldwide, the rate of cesarean section is increasing. According to the CDC, in 2012 the rate of cesarean sections comprised 32.8% of all births in the United States (CDC, 2013). Between 1996-2009 the cesarean section rate has risen 60% in the U.S (CDC, 2013). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 50% of the 137 countries studies had cesarean section rates higher than 15% (WHO, 2010). The current goal of U.S. 2020 Healthy People is to reduce the rate of cesarean section to a target of 23.9%, which is almost 10% lower than the current rate (Healthy People 2020, 2013). According to a study conducted by Gonzales, Tapia, Fort, and Betran (2013), the appropriate percentage of performed cesarean sections is unclear, and is dependent on the circumstances of each individual birth (p. 643). Though often a life-saving procedure when necessary, the risks and complications associated with cesarean delivery are a cause for alarm due to the documented rate increase of this procedure across the globe. Many studies have revealed that cesarean deliveries increase the incidence of maternal hemorrhage and mortality and neonatal respiratory distress when compared to vaginal deliveries. As a result, current research suggests that efforts to reduce the rate of non-medically indicated cesarean sections should be made, and that comprehensive patient education should be provided when considering an elective cesarean delivery over a planned vaginal delivery.
Jacobs, Sandra. "Having Your Baby with a Nurse-Midwife." January 1997, n. pag. Online. World Wide Web. <http://www.midwife.org/focus/trans.htm > 18 Feb. 1999.
Having a baby should be one of the happiest and most important events in a woman?s life. However, although life with a new baby can be both thrilling and rewarding, it can also be a difficult and quite stressful task. Most women make the transition without great difficulty, yet some women experience considerable complexity that may manifest itself as a postpartum psychiatric disorder (O?hara, Hoffman, Philips, & Wright, 1992). Many physical and emotional changes can occur to a woman during the time of her pregnancy as well as following the birth of her child. These particular changes can leave a new mother feeling sad, anxious, afraid and confused. For many women, these feelings; which are known as baby blues, go away fairly quickly. But when they do not go away or rather they get worse, a woman may be experiencing the effects of postpartum depression (PPD). This is a serious condition that describes a range of physical and emotional changes and that requires prompt treatment from a health care provider. According to Mauthner, (1999) postpartum depression occurs when women are unable to experience, express and validate their feelings and needs within supportive, accepting and non-judgmental interpersonal relationships and cultural contexts.
Mayo Clinic collaborative services educational publication. (2004). Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. New York, NY, Harper Collins Publishers Inc.
Maternal health has been seen as an issue of immediate concern for the developing countries. Socio-cultural factors in many developing countries particularly; those in Asia are leading to increased maternal mortality due to poor health. This fact can be seen from the social and cultural trends in these countries because of these factors various disabilities, inadequacies and even deaths are increasing. Differential in socio-economic status are seen for most conditions diseases and risk factors in this country. The social distribution of health and the social causes, which most affect health, must be understood and addressed.
Pasquariello, P. S., Jr. (Ed.). (1999). Book of pregnancy and child care. New York City, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
...al period is an extremely stressful period for first time mothers who have to face numerous physical, emotional and social challenges. It is further complicated by the limited support they might get from healthcare providers due to early hospital discharge. For example, in Singapore the only attention provided to the mothers after discharge includes follow-up visits to the hospital from week 1-6 of the postpartum period depending on the maternal needs. Lack of support at home is one of the factor that may contribute to first time mothers having low self-efficacy in their newborn care, which is considered to be the most crucial characteristic for transition to motherhood.Thus, having adequate discharge education and support by family members is crucially important as it aids first time mothers in coping with their post natal period, maternal and newborn well-being.
The most important indicators of a community’s overall health are maternal, infant and child health. It deals with the health of women of childbearing age from pre-pregnancy, labor, delivery and the postpartum period and the health of the child prior to birth up the adolescence (McKenzie & Pinger, 2015, p.192). The health data that is collected towards maternal, infant and child health are used to see the effectiveness of disease prevention and health promotion services in a community. Prenatal health care is one of the fundamentals of a safe pregnancy. An infant’s health mostly depends on the mother. A child’s during the ages of one to nine are very important to the child’s development and the future (McKenzie & Pinger, 2015, p.217). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccinating children against most vaccine-preventable diseases early in life. One of the community programs for Women, Infants and Children are maternal and child health bureau, which is in charge with the responsibility for promoting and improving the health of our nations mothers and children. Another is woman, infants and children program, which is a clinic-based program designed to provide a variety of nutritional health related goods and services to pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants up to
Perry, S. E., Hockenberry, M. J., Lowdermilk, D. L., & Wilson, D. (2013). Labor and Birth Processes. In Maternal Child Nursing Care (5th ed., p. 351). Elsevier-Health Sciences Division.
“ Being a Motherhood is a choice you make every day, to put someone else's happiness and well-being ahead of your own, to teach the hard lessons, to do the right thing even when you're not sure what the right thing is...and to forgive yourself, over and over again, for doing everything wrong.” MMMMM. Being mother is one of the most blessed and the most challenging job in the world. Giving birth to a new life and making it walk through the new world holding its hands showing a good trail makes a mother victorious in her life. In this modern world women’s attitude against pregnancy and being a mother is changing accordingly. There occurs so many miscarriages and maternal death during the pregnancy. A woman should be physically, and more over mentally set to have a baby in her womb. Considering the biological fitness of health it’s said that safer age to be get pregnant is in between 20 to 29. Early pregnancy in the teenage age of 13 to 20 and the delayed motherhood age after 35 is challenging to the health of mother as well as the birth of the child causing currently social issues India.