The Importance Of First Time Mother

730 Words2 Pages

All mothers, especially first time mothers need help moral support and advice during the first few days after their delivery to ensure proper care of their newborn. The care and help given to first time mothers is of utmost important during this period as to maintain the normality in their babies as well as to prevent any further complications. Typically all pregnant women are counseled during their antenatal period on how to prepare themselves mentally on the care of their babies after birth. Upon delivery, majority of the mothers would stay for a short period in the hospital. During this short stay, they would need time to recuperate, need to know what care to give their baby and how to carry out the care and also learn what to do if their baby is feeling unwell. Thus it is important for health care providers to assist first time mothers be it at the hospital or at home since it is a crucial period for them and they often requires more help and moral support especially when it comes to the proper care of their newborn. ("Routine care of a newborn baby") However, nurses in the maternity ward have expressed their deepest concerns about meeting the needs of first time mother on discharge education during their stay in the hospital. Some of the nurses’ concerns include the lack of time and the amount of information they are required to equip the first time mothers to care for their newborn. Mothers have also reported dissatisfaction with the discharge education provided by the hospital. One of which that causes their frustration was the inconsistent breast feeding information and the need for more information about newborn care which was not covered by the hospital. (Barbara L. Buchko C. H., National Center for Biotechnology Info... ... middle of paper ... ...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.

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