MCN. The American journal of maternal child nursing
-
MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs · Jan 2005
ReviewMother-infant co-sleeping: understanding the debate and maximizing infant safety.
Mother-infant co-sleeping is debated fervently in the research literature. While studies abound, there is no precise answer to this conundrum, and parents continue to ask nurses for their best opinions about the safety of co-sleeping. The puzzling results of these studies have occurred partly because of: (1) retrospective study designs, (2) lack of control over covariables, (3) misclassification of infant deaths, and (4) unknown prevalence of co-sleeping practices. This article describes the salient issues nurses need to understand in the mother-infant co-sleeping debate, and suggests ways that nurses can help parents to modify risk factors and safety measures if they desire co-sleeping.
-
Unfortunately the history of pain management in infant care has included decades of inadequate analgesia for a wide range of medical procedures, including major surgery. This was justified in part on fear of drug and analgesic risks to the infant, as well as the commonly held belief that infants do not respond to, or remember, painful experiences. Today we understand that infant pain is encoded into observable manifestations through which an infant communicates behavioral and physiological changes such as altered vital signs, characteristic cries, and facial expressions. The purposes of this article are to (1) describe infants' physiological and behavioral responses to pain and its adverse effects, (2) review pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic infant pain management modalities and reliable pain assessment tools for use in clinical practice, and (3) educate healthcare professionals about the importance of assessment and management of infant pain.
-
The purpose of this article is to increase nurses' understanding of the Amish culture so nurses can give culturally competent care to Amish children. The Amish live in large multigenerational families on farms where hard work is valued; worldly conveniences such as electricity, telephones, and automobiles are usually shunned. However, the Amish are willing to accept and participate in modern healthcare, if its value is clearly understood. Amish beliefs and traditions are described, and recommendations for the nursing care of Amish children which are consistent with the Amish faith are presented.
-
MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs · Jul 2000
ReviewHydrotherapy during labor. An example of developing a practice policy.
Warm water has been used for centuries to treat many painful ailments. In perinatal clinical practice, hydrotherapy is being used to increase relaxation and decrease pain during labor. This article summarizes clinical studies evaluating hydrotherapy during labor, describing the current evidence which supports hydrotherapy as an effective method for managing intrapartal pain. The article also describes the process by which an institution established an evidence-based practice policy for the use of hydrotherapy in labor.
-
Cardiopulmonary arrest is rare in pregnancy. To provide the most proficient care to a pregnant woman requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation, nurses must first understand the physiologic changes that normally occur in pregnant women. This article reviews the physiologic adjustments made by the human body during pregnancy and the manner in which these can affect efforts during resuscitation. Preparation and organization are essential in implementing care during resuscitation of a pregnant woman, which is a crisis situation for everyone involved.