One book standardizes and consolidates teaching
March 1, 2002
One book standardizes and consolidates teaching
Unity in inpatient, outpatient settings
Expectant mothers often are given lots of information — a pamphlet at one physician visit, a handout at another. To help bring this information all together, Women’s Services at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, WA, created a booklet titled Our Precious Journey.
In addition to providing one resource, the booklet helped ensure that the education patients received was the same in both inpatient and outpatient areas. It also provided education in a timely manner. For example, one section covered community resources such as childbirth education classes, where to buy used baby clothing, and the location of support groups for mothers of multiple births, says Sherry Maughan, RN, women’s services director.
A committee of three wrote the booklet after gathering similar materials from other health care facilities to use as examples. Each chapter was presented to physicians for feedback and patients reviewed it when the booklet was complete. "We didn’t include patients until we were almost done with the notebook because we wanted them to be able to see the full scope of it," says Maughan.
The booklet contains several tabs that identify the sections. There is a diary for patients to track their physician visits and keep vital statistics about the baby. One section is for the information given to patients by the physician. Another section covers the pregnancy between 12 and 32 weeks discussing diet and nutrition, test evaluations, medications they should avoid, and the things they should be thinking about and planning for.
A section on labor talks about determining when the time is right to go to the hospital and what will happen upon arrival. A special section is specific to expectant mothers who will have a cesarean birth. A birth-to-home section discusses what new moms can expect in the postpartum period. The final section covers postpartum instructions for the care of the baby at home. It includes information on nutrition, when to call the doctor, caring for other children and a spouse in the process, and what moms need to do to take care of themselves.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content