Professional support and emergency visits during the first 2 weeks postpartum

• Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess mothers' perceived satisfaction with professional support during the first 2 weeks after childbirth and the extent to which mothers seek emergency care during the same period. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted of all mothers (n = 546) in Stockholm County, Sweden, who gave birth to a live baby during the same week in 2009. Ethical issues: The study was approved by the regional Research and Ethics Committee at the Karolinska Insititutet, Sweden. Methods: The mothers responded to a study-specific questionnaire on perceived satisfaction with professional support and the sense of coherence scale, which measures coping strategies. The mothers also provided information about their socio-demographic background, obstetric and infant data, and visits to hospital emergency departments. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Fifty-three percent of the mothers rated the support received as sufficient or more than sufficient, 29.7% as neither sufficient nor insufficient and 17.7% as insufficient or completely insufficient. The results indicate a lack of continuity in postpartum care. As many as 17% of the mothers in the study population visited hospital emergency departments during the first 2 weeks after childbirth, as a result of problems related to delivery, breastfeeding or infant health. A higher frequency of such emergency visits was associated with poor perception of professional support, low sense of coherence and delivery complications. Conclusions: Relative to otherwise comparable mothers, mothers who experience complications with delivery are less satisfied with professional support and turn more frequently to hospital emergency departments for support. © 2013 Nordic College of Caring Science. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Reproduktionsmedicin och gynekologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Emergency department

Postpartum period

Professional support

Sense of coherence

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