Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Sonia Zimmerman

Keywords

Pregnancy, High-Risk; Prenatal Care

Abstract

High-risk pregnancy is a growing concern in the United States (McCormick, 2001), resulting in complications in both the mother and the fetus. Each year, approximately 875,000 women experience at least one complication. Approximately 460,000 women are receiving inadequate prenatal care (American Pregnancy Association, 2007). The purpose of Knowing While Growing: Occupational Therapy Interventions for Women with High-Risk Pregnancies is to promote the health and well ness of expectant mothers and to prevent disability to themselves and their developing fetus through the use of research-based therapeutic interventions. The components of this manual include definitions of high-risk pregnancies and related terms, information regarding members of the treatment team, discussion of the theoretical foundation of the manual, outcomes measures to be used to determine the effectiveness of these services, additional resources for the therapists and the expectant mother, references used in developing this manual, and the specific interventions provided.

The outcomes measures used to determine the success of the interventions in meeting the needs of these women include the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, 2007), satisfaction surveys, a final satisfaction survey, and an occupational therapists self-reflection journal. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure is a standardized assessment in a semi-structured interview format that is used by occupational therapists to determine what the client feels are their needs in the areas of self-care, productivity, and leisure. This measure will assist the therapists in selecting the interventions that will best meet the needs of these expectant mothers. This assessment will also be used as an outcomes measure at the end of therapy services to determine if those needs were met. The satisfaction surveys will be completed by the expectant mothers at the end of each intervention session to determine how satisfied they were with the information provided during the interventions. The final satisfaction survey will be given to the expectant mothers at the end of the final therapy session to determine if the overall services met their needs. The occupational therapists self-reflection journal will be completed by the therapists providing the interventions at the end of each session. The therapists will record the strengths, weaknesses, new goals, and key points of each intervention session.

These interventions are divided into the categories of stress management and coping skills, nutrition, exercise, and emotional health. These areas of need were identified based on a review of literature on high-risk pregnancies. There are three specific interventions under each category, one being preparatory, one purposeful, and one that is occupation-based. These interventions are designed for use in 45 minute sessions in either individual or group settings. With the use of this manual, occupational therapists will be prepared to meet the needs of women diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy and will be able to provide them with-successful, satisfactory therapeutic interventions.

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