# data[].attributes.body
Women need to learn about self-care before health care agency discharge, so that they can maintain self-care at home. A follow-up telephone call or home visit is helpful. All women should conscientiously return for a visit at 6 weeks after childbirth, to be certain their reproductive organs have returned to their nonpregnant state.

# data[].attributes.body
- every newborn should have a health maintenance visit 2 to 4 weeks after birth
-  the postpartal examination should be a time for a woman to discuss any problems she had with childbearing and any she now has with childrearing

# data[].attributes.body
-  the purposes of a home visit for the well postpartum woman and her newborn are to help integrate the infant into the family

# data[].attributes.body
-  a response to dependence and low self-esteem caused by exhaustion

# data[].attributes.body
-  it can be difficult for parents to feel positive immediately about a child who does not meet their expectations

# data[].attributes.body
-  many mothers, if given the opportunity, admit to feeling abandoned and less important after giving birth than they did during pregnancy or labor

# data[].attributes.headline
Maternal Concerns and Feelings in the Postpartal Period

# data[].attributes.subject
Maternal Concerns and Feelings in the Postpartal Period

# data[].attributes.body
-  separation from children is often as painful for a mother as it is for her children.
-  Assess to be sure that siblings are free of contagious diseases

# data[].attributes.body
-  the more time a woman has to spend with her baby, the sooner she may feel competent in child care
- has 2 types:  complete, in which the mother and child are together 24 hours a day, and partial, in which the infant remains in the woman’s room for most of the time

# data[].attributes.body
-  this action alerts caregivers to how actively the father, as well as the mother, is beginning bonding

# data[].attributes.body
-  looking directly at her newborn’s face, with direct eye contact
-  a sign a woman is beginning effective interaction

# data[].attributes.body
- can be termed as claiming or bonding

# data[].attributes.headline
Development of Parental Love and Positive Family Relationships

# data[].attributes.subject
Development of Parental Love and Positive Family Relationships

# data[].attributes.body
- woman enters into a relationship with her newborn tentatively and with qualms and conflicts that must be addressed
-  some women seem able to recognize a newborn’s needs immediately and to give care with confident understanding right from the start

# data[].attributes.body
-  a woman finally redefines her new role, she gives up the fantasized image of her child and accepts the real one
-  this process requires some grief work and readjustment of relationships

# data[].attributes.body
-  after a time of passive dependence, a woman begins to initiate action
-  it is always best to give a woman brief demonstrations of baby care and then allow her to care for her child herself—with watchful guidance.

# data[].attributes.body
-  a time of reflection  where the mother prefers having a nurse minister to her and make decisions for her, rather than do these things herself
-  this dependence results partly from her physical discomfort because of afterpains or hemorrhoids; partly from her uncertainty in caring for her newborn

# data[].attributes.headline
Psychological Changes of the Postpartal Period

# data[].attributes.subject
Psychological Changes of the Postpartal Period

# data[].attributes.body
The postpartum period is a time of transition, during which a couple gives up concepts such as “childless” or “parents of one” and moves to the beginning of new parenthood

# data[].attributes.body
-  evaluation in the postpartal period involves being certain not only that a woman and her baby are safe but also that the woman knows how to maintain her own health
-  such follow-up evaluation can be done by telephone, during home visits, or during postpartal and well-child assessments

# data[].attributes.body
-  all interventions in the postpartal period should be family centered
-  Interventions also should be geared toward increasing a woman’s self-esteem and allowing her to view herself as a new mother and her new infant as part of her family

# data[].attributes.body
-  outcomes must be devised that can be accomplished and evaluated during this short period of client contact
-  when planning care in the postpartal period, try to arrange procedures to allow optimal time for family infant–interaction

# data[].attributes.body
-  usually are concerned either with a family’s inability to accept and bond with a new child or with physiologic considerations
-  Examples might include:
• Health-seeking behaviors related to care of newborn
• Risk for impaired parenting related to disappointment in the sex of the child
• Fear related to lack of preparation for child care

# data[].attributes.body
-  accomplished by health interview, physical examination, and analysis of laboratory data
-  important to ensure that physical changes, such as uterine involution, are occurring by evaluating uterine size and consistency and lochia flow amount

# data[].attributes.headline
Nursing Process for a Postpartal Woman and her family

# data[].attributes.subject
Nursing Process for a Postpartal Woman and her family

# data[].attributes.body
emotional health of her child and family

# data[].attributes.body
Emotional support the mother receives

# data[].attributes.body
The physical care a woman receives during the postpartal period can influence her health for the rest of her life.

# data[].attributes.body
Protecting a woman’s health as these changes occur is important for preserving her future childbearing function and for ensuring that she is physically well enough

# data[].attributes.body
- production of milk for lactation, restoration of the normal menstrual cycle, and beginning of a parenting role

# data[].attributes.body
- involution of uterus & vagina

# data[].attributes.body
- refers to the 6-week period after childbirth
- a time of maternal changes