Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Discovering Self: Childbearing Adolescents' Maternal Identity, Janelle L. B. Macintosh, Lynn Clark Callister

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Adolescent pregnancy and motherhood have long been a topic of interest for many healthcare professionals. However, there are limited data on how childbearing adolescents incorporate motherhood identity into their sense of self. The purpose of this study was to explore how childbearing adolescents perceive motherhood as becoming part of their personal identity.

Study Design: This qualitative study using ethnographic data collection involved 7 months of observation, interaction, and interviews.

Methods: Data were collected from nine expectant adolescents during in-depth interviews. All participants were patients at a teen mother and child clinic staffed by certified nurse midwives and a pediatrician. …

Paripartum Cardiomyopathy: Implications For Nps, Jeffrey A. Goss, A. Elaine Bond, Renea L. Beckstrand, Lynn C. Callister

Faculty Publications

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), the fifth leading cause of death in pregnancy, is often overlooked or misdiagnosed because of vague symptoms and a lack of specific criteria for diagnosis. The authors performed a literature review of articles published between January 2000 and November 2007, and found that early diagnosis via echocardiography and interventions with specific treatment modalities can reduce mortality. Dobutamine stress testing may be prognostic for left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Standard heart failure (HF) drug regimens, heart transplantation, and mechanical assist devices are viable treatment modalities, depending on individual needs. Subsequent pregnancies must be followed closely. The authors recommend that …