title: Postpartum Health Services Requested by Mothers with Newborns Receiving Intensive Care.
abstract: Objectives Our pilot study aimed to build knowledge of the postpartum health needs of mothers with infants in a newborn intensive care unit (NICU). Methods Between May 2008 and December 2009, a Certified Nurse Midwife was available during workday hours to provide health care services to mothers visiting their infants in the NICU at a large tertiary care center. Results A total of 424 health service encounters were recorded. Maternal requests for services covered a wide variety of needs, with primary care being the most common. Key health concerns included blood pressure monitoring, colds, coughs, sore throats, insomnia and migraines. Mothers also expressed a need for mental health assessment and support, obstetric care, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, tobacco cessation, breastfeeding assistance, postpartum visits, and provision of contraception. Conclusions Our study suggests that mothers with babies in the NICU have a host of health needs. We also found that women were receptive to receiving health services in a critical care pediatric setting. Intensive care nurseries could feasibly partner with in-patient mother-baby units and/or on-site obstetric clinics to increase access to health care for the mothers of the high-risk newborns in their units. Modifications should be made within health care systems that serve high-risk infants to better address the many needs of the mother/baby dyad in the postpartum period.
authors.affiliation: Center for Maternal and Infant Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 7181, Room 3018 Old Clinic Building, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7181, USA. sarahv@med.unc.edu.|School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 3550, 325 Pittsboro Street, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3550, USA. sarahv@med.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verbiest
authors.affiliation: Center for Maternal and Infant Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 7181, Room 3018 Old Clinic Building, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7181, USA.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McClain
authors.affiliation: Center for Maternal and Infant Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 7181, Room 3018 Old Clinic Building, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7181, USA.|Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Campus Box 7516, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7516, USA.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stuebe
authors.affiliation: Center for Maternal and Infant Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 7181, Room 3018 Old Clinic Building, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7181, USA.|Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Campus Box 7516, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7516, USA.
authors.forename: M Kathryn
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Menard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D000068097:Maternal Health; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011181:Postnatal Care; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy
keywords: High-risk population; Maternal health; Neonatal intensive care unit; Postpartum health care services; Postpartum visit