A Comprehensive Initiative to Prevent Falls Among Newborns.
Our hospital experienced seven instances of newborns falling over a 7-month period. Until that time, there had been no reported newborn falls. We formed a committee to study the situation and make recommendations for change. Common factors observed were early morning hours and an exhausted parent, usually the mother, falling asleep while feeding the newborn. The committee developed a policy and procedure addressing falls among newborns, created staff education and tools, and posted signage in mothers' rooms. We also updated crib cards to include information about falls and safe sleep, and we revised newborn admission education for parents with additional information about falls. The incidence of newborns falling has decreased since we implemented these changes.
Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children in Huntsville, AL.. Electronic address: rose.ainsworth@hhsys.org.
Rose Mary
RM
Ainsworth
Institute for Healthcare Quality Improvement at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, NC.
Shelley
S
Summerlin-Long
Mother/Baby Units at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children in Huntsville, AL.
Cathy
C
Mog
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001942:Breast Feeding; D006801:Humans; D007224:Infant Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016389:Maternal-Child Nursing / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000941:ethics*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
breastfeeding; fall prevention; maternal–newborn; newborn falls; safe infant sleep