RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To describe maternal concerns at 2 weeks and mothers' ability to function in various roles at 4 weeks postpartum. DESIGN: Subjects were mailed questionnaires at 2 and 4 weeks postpartum. SETTING: A mid-Atlantic hospital that is a part of an academic health center. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 100 healthy women who were discharged < or = 48 hours postpartum and met the study criteria. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Instruments included a demographic questionnaire, the Maternal Concerns Questionnaire, and the Inventory of Functional Status After Childbirth. RESULTS: Physiologic concerns during the early postpartum period related primarily to perineal sutures, breast care, body image, and fatigue. More than 25% of the women continued to experience depression at 2 weeks, and 40% had days at 1 month when they never got dressed. Much concern was expressed about the mothering role but little about interaction with the mate. Older maternal age was associated with a longer hospital stay, and the trend suggested improved functioning at 1 month with longer hospitalization. More than half of the participants said they would visit a nurse-run clinic during the 1st postpartum week if given the opportunity. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide descriptive information about effects of early hospital discharge. Mothers discharged in 48 hours or less adjust to motherhood without the education and assessment that was formerly possible with extended hospitalization. The current study reinforces the need for nurses to explore strategies in hospitals or communities to provide early care for postpartum mothers.
Asunto(s)
Adaptación Psicológica , Tiempo de Internación , Enfermería Maternoinfantil , Relaciones Madre-Hijo , Alta del Paciente/normas , Periodo Posparto , Adolescente , Adulto , District of Columbia , Femenino , Humanos , Recién Nacido , Persona de Mediana Edad , Educación del Paciente como Asunto , Rol , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
1. Today's college women are older than college women of 10 or 20 years ago; women's health courses must reflect this demographic change. 2. An awareness of older women's health concerns must be an essential component of any women's health course. 3. Nurses' preparation and traditional advocacy roles make them ideal to teach women's health courses.
Asunto(s)
Curriculum , Bachillerato en Enfermería , Salud de la Mujer , Factores de Edad , Recolección de Datos , Femenino , Humanos , UniversidadesRESUMEN
The advantage over men that women experience in life expectancy does not extend to morbidity. Although women live on average approximately 7 years longer than men, their later years are often filled with medical problems. Much is currently known that could influence and effect improved health for women. Menopause is not a dramatic event that signals an abrupt change in the health and well-being of women. Rather, it is a transitional time of perhaps a 25-year span when estrogen production gradually declines and results in a variety of bodily changes. Concurrent with the hormone changes are other effects of the normal cycle of aging. Comprehensive multidisciplinary health care clinics for adult women have the potential to provide health services that women seek.
Asunto(s)
Acontecimientos que Cambian la Vida , Menopausia , Salud de la Mujer , Enfermedad Crónica , Comorbilidad , Características Culturales , Femenino , Humanos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Servicios de Salud para Mujeres/organización & administraciónRESUMEN
Significant change in the social roles played by American women has occurred during the past two decades. Recent research literature suggests, however, that attitudinal change may be lagging significantly behind the profound changes in behavior. The purpose of this research was to investigate whether expectant couples who hold more egalitarian views toward women's roles prior to the birth of a first child expect the new father to be more involved in the care of his own infant. A demographic questionnaire, the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (Spence & Helmrich, 1972), and the Projected Paternal Behavior Scale (Alter, 1978) were administered to 103 prenatal couples between the sixth and eighth months of pregnancy. Findings confirmed a significant correlation between both expectant fathers' and expectant mothers' egalitarian views toward women's roles and their projections of the father's participation in the care of his infant. More liberal attitudes toward women's roles were also associated with increased age, higher combined family income, and increased levels of education.
Asunto(s)
Actitud , Relaciones Padre-Hijo , Padre/psicología , Identidad de Género , Identificación Psicológica , Adolescente , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Madres/psicología , Disposición en PsicologíaRESUMEN
Increasing numbers of women include exercise even during pregnancy as an essential part of their daily routines. Because of the additional physiological demands imposed by pregnancy, health-care practitioners must determine whether or not aerobic exercise is, in fact, healthy for the expectant mother and developing fetus. This article examines whether or not the traditional advice that women receive regarding exercise during pregnancy is supported by the existing scientific literature.
Asunto(s)
Ejercicio Físico , Embarazo/fisiología , Regulación de la Temperatura Corporal , Femenino , Frecuencia Cardíaca Fetal , Humanos , RespiraciónRESUMEN
Despite the increased attention to the role of the father in the childbearing family, relatively little is known of those factors that facilitate or hinder the transition to parenthood. To study the relationship between stress in the prospective father and congruence of attitudes between husband and wife regarding the projected role of the father with the newborn, 103 prenatal couples were studied. Results supported the position that anxiety in the father increased as discordance between husband and wife increased regarding the projected father role. No relationship was found between anxiety and the amount of projected involvement by the father in child care.