Maternal-Neonatal Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! 3rd Edition

Book Preface

Teaching nursing is not as simple as “teaching” and students “learning.” The learning  comes from active engagement and an interest to understand the concepts of study.
Nurse educators often struggle to get students the right amount of information in a  format students understand and have the time to read. Offering simple solutions and providing options to enhance learning is one goal for this educator.

As a student, I dreaded the long pages of assigned text, which were sometimes difficult to ascertain the most salient points important to what was necessary to provide  nursing care. The books became a way for me to supplement the lectures I attended in nursing school. With changes in higher education and a movement toward active  engagement and an active learning environment, it is important to facilitate student learning through recourses which make learning fun. One way to achieve this is through  books such as the third edition of Maternal-Neonatal Nursing Made Incredibly Easy.

Those familiar with the first two editions will be pleased to encounter the same  well-loved features that helped make it an excellent resource. Comprehensive information is still conveyed succinctly in multiple forms that actively engage the reader.

Original content has been updated and enhanced with tables, charts, diagrams,  illustrations, quizzes, and delightful cartoons that help the reader focus on key facts.

In addition, icons draw your attention to important issues: Advice from the experts—tips and tricks for maternal-neonatal nurses from the people who know best—other maternal-neonatal nurses.

Education edge —patient-teaching tips and checklists that help the nurse  pass along information that can be vital to promoting a healthy pregnancy and preventing complications.
Bridging the gap—details on cultural differences that may affect care.
Weighing the evidence—evidence-based practice pointers.
Enjoy this comprehensive resource that doesn’t separate learning from fun. With the third edition of Maternal-Neonatal Nursing Made Incredibly Easy , it’s a packaged deal!
Stephanie C. Butkus, PhD, APRN, CPNP
Assistant Professor, Nursing
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, TX

Just the facts
In this chapter, you’ll learn:
♦ roles of maternal-neonatal nurses
♦ dynamics of family-centered nursing care
♦ structures and functions of families
♦ factors that influence a family’s response to pregnancy
♦ legal and ethical issues associated with maternalneonatal nursing.

Introduction to maternal-neonatal  nursing Infant and maternal mortality rates are going down—and so am I!
In North America, nurses care for more than four million pregnant patients each year. Providing this care can be challenging and rewarding. After all, you must use technology efficiently and  effectively, offer thorough patient teaching, and remain sensitive to and supportive of patients’ emotional needs.
Going down!
In recent decades, infant and maternal mortality rates have  progressively declined, even among women older than age 35.
Factors responsible for this decline include a reduction in such disorders as placenta previa and ectopic pregnancy and prevention of related complications. Better control of complications  associated with gestational hypertension and decreased use of anesthesia with childbirth also contribute to this decline.

Room for improvement
Despite these advances, there’s still room for improvement in maternal and neonatal health care. Infant and maternal mortality rates remain high for poor patients,  minorities, and teenage mothers—largely because of a lackof good prenatal care.
Maternal-neonatal nursing goals
The primary goal of maternal-neonatal nursing is to provide comprehensive family-centered care to the pregnant patient, the family, and the baby throughout pregnancy. (See Three pregnancy periods .)
Setting the standards
In 1980, the American Nurses Association’s Maternal
Child Health Nursing Practice division set standards for maternal- neonatal nursing. These standards provided guidelines  for planning care and formulating desired patient outcomes.
Later, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses built on these standards to create the current practice standards to promote the health of women and newborns. Today, these standards form the principles to provide benchmarks for  nurses who provide evidence-based nursing care to these patient populations.
Your job is to take
care of me and my
mom and the rest of
my family. I’ll thank
you when I arrive!
Three pregnancy periods
Pregnancy can be broken down into three periods:
The antepartum period refers to the period from conception to the  onset of labor.
The intrapartum period extends from the onset of contractions that cause cervical dilation to the first 1 to 4 hours after the birth of the neonate and delivery of the placenta.
The postpartum period refers to the 6 weeks after delivery of the neonate and the placenta. Also known as the puerperium, this stage  ends when the reproductive organs return to the nonpregnant state.