Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Scholarly Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)
Department
Occupational Therapy
First Advisor
Julie Grabanski
Abstract
Title: Exploring Postpartum Care: A Guide for Mothers
Background: Thousands of babies are born in hospitals each year. Before being discharged home from the hospital, mothers receive education from interprofessional team members about their infant’s care, but there is a lack of information and education provided to mothers about their care and postpartum recovery. Without having adequate information on a mother’s recovery, there is an increased risk for poor maternal outcomes to occur during the postpartum journey. Maternal health is an emerging practice area for occupational therapy practitioners; the population is within the scope of practice for the profession. Currently, there is limited literature on the role of occupational therapy within maternal health and postpartum care, despite the benefits of including occupational therapy as an interprofessional team member.
Project Description: To address the lack of education provided to mothers in the healthcare system, an educational guide, Exploring Postpartum Care: A Guide for Mothers, was created. The education guide was created using the Ecology of Human Performance model to guide the organization. The information in the guide included the following topics: mental health, pelvic floor health, safe body mechanics, pain management, routines, roles, breastfeeding, nutrition, self-care, social supports, supplies, healing timeline, precautions, signs of complications, and resources.
Discussion: Exploring Postpartum Care: A Guide for Mothers was created from an occupational therapy perspective to assist mothers with their transition into the postpartum journey. The goal of this guide was to provide a more holistic approach to a mother’s postpartum journey to improve their knowledge about the postpartum experience and their maternal outcomes. Exploring Postpartum Care: A Guide for Mothers was provided to a Midwest Healthcare System ix where it will be distributed to all mothers as part of their education resources at discharge. Additionally, this project contributed to the field of occupational therapy by providing occupational therapy practitioners with a starting point of information to be addressed in a session with a patient while the role of occupational therapy in maternal health expands.
Recommended Citation
Matlock, Amber Joy, "Exploring Postpartum Care: A Guide For Mothers" (2024). Occupational Therapy Capstones. 611.
https://commons.und.edu/ot-grad/611