Abstract
Aim: To investigate discharge information given to postpartum women and recovery promotion
Background: A vital role of healthcare professionals is to convey knowledge to patients and ensure information is not just heard but understood. Many postpartum mothers are not seen by healthcare providers beyond discharge from hospital. Hence, information provided at discharge is the final education mothers receive in preparation to recognise and respond to complication warning signs and adapt to their new life with an infant.
Evaluation: Using the integrative approach described by Whittemore and Knafl (2005), a comprehensive search of the literature between 2013 and 2023 was carried out using the terms postpartum, mothers, discharge information and recovery as key words.
Key findings: Three main themes were developed - Variation in information delivered due to personal influences of staff; mothers don't know what they don't know but can acknowledge concerns; and the significance of social support. Staff often lacked knowledge in areas they were supposed to teach, and only conveyed information to certain mothers of their choosing. Mothers often did not understand the information they received, or were unable to utilize their learning in real-word scenarios. Lastly, social support played a key facilitating role in promotion of recovery.
Conclusions: This review provides insight into several areas of inconsistencies found throughout discharge education influenced by staff, mothers, and wider social supports, discussing these in the Aotearoa and Māori health context and providing suggestions for future research to guide quality improvement measures.