title: Postpartum assessment. The psychological component.
abstract: The postpartum patient's emotional status plays a significant part in her recovery and her adjustment to her infant. Postpartum hospital stays are very brief, so nurses must make every encounter with the patient meaningful. Developing a systematic method of assessing the patient will save time and allow for quicker identification of patient needs. Assessment guidelines that focus on three aspects of the patient's psychological status are provided patient's reaction to the birth experience, patient's adaptation to the infant, and family's reaction to the infant.
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007224:Infant Care; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D012648:Self Care