A study in MCN notes that most nurses who care for women during the postpartum period aren’t current on the rates and timing of maternal mortality during the postpartum period; 88% didn’t identify the leading three causes of maternal mortality. In addition, on the day of discharge, more than two thirds of RNs (67%) spend less than 10 minutes of time teaching mothers about warning signs of potential complications.

Nurses’ Knowledge and Teaching of Possible Postpartum Complications.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess postpartum nurses’ knowledge of maternal morbidity and mortality, and information they shared with women before discharge about identifying potential warning signs of postpartum complications.

Study Design & Methods: Registered nurses (RNs) who care for women during postpartum (N = 372) completed an electronic survey. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were used for data analysis.

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