Preterm Labor

• Postpartum care: Goal: emotional support.
  1. Facilitate attachment - photos if baby transferred or mother unable to visit.
  2. If couple, foster sense of mutual experience and closeness.
  3. Help her/them maintain a positive self-image.
  4. Encourage touching of infant before transport to nursery or high-risk facility; father/ partner may accompany infant and report back to mother.
  5. Encourage early contact- to facilitate mother’s need to ventilate her feelings.
  6. Assist parent(s) with grieving process, if necessary.
  7. Refer to support group if necessary.
• Evaluation/outcome criteria:
  1. Woman verbalizes understanding of medical/ nursing recommendations and treatments.
  2. Woman complies with medical/nursing regimen.
  3. Woman experiences no discomfort from side effects of therapy.
  4. Woman experiences successful outcome - labor inhibited.
  5. Woman carries pregnancy to successful termination.
  6. If preterm birth occurs, woman copes effectively with outcome (physiologically compromised neonate, neonatal death).