Teaching and support: nursing input in the postpartum period

The findings from two studies, surveys of hospitals and community health units in Alberta, Canada, to determine the policies, procedures and content related to postpartum teaching are presented in this paper. While content covered was extensive the limited time available for teaching suggested that material would have to be presented at a superficial level, with little time for reinforcement. The average time for a home visit by the nurse was 7-12 days post-discharge and in some instances staff shortages precluded a second visit. The most frequent reason for follow-up visits in the community was problems with newborn feeding. Volunteer services in the community, such as the La Lêche League, were frequently not recommended to mothers by hospital nurses, so breastfeeding mothers were left without support at a critical time. While the study did not support the mother's contention in an earlier study that they did not receive information, the lack of opportunity for expansion and reinforcement of provided information would mitigate against adequate maternal education.