Maternal, Child Health and Neonatal Nursing Commons^™

Family And Child Development Education For Harrisonburg Adolescents, Mollie M. Moran, Jennifer E. Corser, Julia M. Glauber

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The pregnancy rate among 15- to 17-year-old women in Harrisonburg is double Virginia's state rate (Townsend, 2008). While meeting administers and guidance counselors of Harrisonburg High School we learned that Harrisonburg High School views this issue as one that cannot be addressed by teaching abstinence in their public school. They have found that because of cultural beliefs, abstinence is not an effective tool for preventing teenage pregnancy. Instead, HHS teaches their students about safe sexual practices and how to have a healthy pregnancy in the event they were to become pregnant. The high school offers a class called “Child and …

Use Of The Peanut Ball To Decrease First And Second Stages Of Labor, Carol L. Payton

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

The purpose for this capstone project was to use a Peanut Ball, to mimic a sitting or squatting position, for decreasing length of first and second stages of labor. In addition, this project was designed to incorporate qualitative data on women’s perception of using the Peanut Ball during labor. The project question was “For laboring women, will use of a Peanut Ball for positioning, as compared to no use of a Peanut Ball, decrease length of first and/or second stages of labor?” The results included a significantly longer second stage of labor in the intervention group (75.63 minutes) when compared …

Effects Of Multimodal Fever Education On Parents Of Febrile Children, Teresa S. Parkhouse

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Insufficient knowledge regarding the physiology and appropriate management of fever in children often contributes to an increased parental anxiety, inappropriate antipyretic use, and overutilization of medical resources (Chang, Liu, & Huang, 2013; Crocetti, Moghbeli, & Serwint, 2001; Schmitt, 1980). Parental concerns regarding childhood fever can lead to an overuse of health care resources as febrile illness in children accounts for approximately 20% of emergency department visits, 30% of office visits, and over 50% of after-hour phone calls to private physicians (Zomorrodi & Attia, 2008). Research shows that multidimensional educational interventions are most effective in improving parental management of fever (Young …

Use Of Immunotherapy In The Treatment Of Peanut Allergies In The Pediatric Population, Bethany Rauscher

Senior Honors Theses

Peanut allergies are a serious issue that must be monitored and treated effectively to avoid severe adverse effects and death. In the last decade, their incidence has increased significantly, due to indeterminate factors. Because people typically do not outgrow peanut allergies and the effects of exposure can be life-threatening, it is important that a cure or management method is developed and refined. Recent research regarding treatment for peanut allergies has focused on the use of immunotherapy, a process aimed at desensitizing children's immune systems so that they do not reject foods that contain peanuts. Some studies utilizing immunotherapy have provided …

Support For Breastfeeding Mothers: Are You Violating The Law?, Phillip Atherton, Christine Buttrick

Nursing Student Publications

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the “Break Time for Nursing Mothers” law in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that requires employers to provide an opportunity for nursing mothers to breastfeed while at work. The law necessitates employers give a “reasonable” amount of time and a private space that is not a bathroom for the first year of a new infant’s life. In order to help mothers have access to breastfeeding, awareness of this law must be expanded, and the implementation of lactation programs in every workplace must be enforced so that mothers can continue to breastfeed …

Caregiving Factors Affecting Breastfeeding Duration Within A Neonatal Intensive Care Unit., Sharon G. Casavant, Georgine Burke, Carrie-Ellen Briere, Jacqueline Mcgrath

University Scholar Projects

Abstract

Background: Increasingly, evidence supports oral feeding of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) preterm infants exclusively at breast or with breastmilk. Despite known breastmilk benefits, outcomes related to exclusive breastmilk provision are poor. Identifying factors that promote breastmilk provision is critical.

Purpose: Breastfeeding practices of mothers of VLBW infants admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) were explored to identify factors associated with mode of feeding at discharge.

Method:

This retrospective study replicates previous work. Subjects were VLBW preterm infants consecutively admitted during a 24-month period. Primary outcomes included receiving any breastmilk at discharge. Infant variables included gestational age (GA), post-menstrual age (PMA) …

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Home Visitation Is Associated With A Decrease In Home Care And Healthcare Utilization Errors In High Risk Infants, Rupalee Patel

Doctoral Projects

The Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System’s (SCVHHS) Babies Reaching Improved Development and Growth in their Environment (BRIDGE) program was developed in 2011 to optimize high risk infants' care transition from Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to home. In addition to hospital discharge teaching and public health nursing efforts, NICU infants need further in home support given their medical vulnerability after discharge. The objectives of the SCVHHS BRIDGE program are to provide caregiver interventions to minimize home care errors after NICU discharge and to optimize health care access and utilization across the transition of care. SCVHHS NICU infants at …

Heath Care Providers’ Perceptions Of The Reproductive Challenges And Experiences Among Asian Indian Women Living In Silicon Valley, Olga Alexandra Libova

Doctoral Projects

Objective: To identify common reproductive challenges among Asian Indian (AI) women living in Silicon Valley as perceived by healthcare providers (HCP). Design: A 71-item investigator-developed survey Setting: The survey was available on-line to all HCPs in California Santa Clara county, 75% of respondents were affiliated with El Camino Hospital Mountain View. Participants: Convenience sample of 78 respondents: 34% mother-baby nurses, 24% labor-delivery nurses, 21% OB/GYNs, 7% CNMs, 14% other HCP; 89% female; 55% Caucasian, 24% Asian. Methods: Likert-type scales comparing prevalence of certain reproductive challenges among AI women and women from other race-ethnic groups and openended questions regarding HCPs’ experience …

Perceived Barriers To Skin To Skin Care From Maternal And Nurse Perspectives, Rachel Alexandra Napoli

Doctoral Projects

The purpose of this doctoral project is to provide foundational data for a skin-to-skin (STS) policy at a community hospital. Two surveys were used to determine the barriers to STS. One survey was given to the nurses electronically in the maternal/child department and the second survey was given to the mothers who delivered at the same hospital during Fall2014. Following data collection, focus groups were formed. The groups consisted of volunteer nurses who reviewed the results of the surveys and developed preliminary data for a STS policy. The three identified barriers to STS by both nurse and maternal surveys were …

The Correlation Between Maternal Diabetes And Birth Defects, Erin Stanton

Senior Honors Theses

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common health problems in the United States, and it is shown to have negative outcomes in infants born to women who are diabetic. Although gestational diabetes mellitus is linked with a few birth defects, research has shown that women with pre-gestational diabetes mellitus have an increased risk of giving birth to infants with birth defects. Among all the defects studied, cardiac and neural tube defects occur most commonly. Appropriate measures should be taken to provide patient teaching, as well as appropriate and effective prenatal care, to women who are at the highest risk …

Training Clinical Judgment Skills For Interpreting Feeding Behavior In Preterm Infants: A Comparison Of Video And In Vivo Simulation, Jamesa R. Ewing

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Health and feeding outcomes for preterm infants depend upon healthcare providers’ ability to recognize non-verbal signs of distress during bottle-feeding. Methods of training future providers’ to interpret feeding behavior in preterm infants are unclear. This study used a pre-test/post-test design to compare the effects of in- vivo simulation and video-simulation training on students’ knowledge of feeding abnormalities, clinical judgment, and documentation accuracy. Fifty-two graduate level speech-language pathology students were assigned to the in-vivo (N= 27) or video-simulation (N= 25) group. Results revealed that both methods proved beneficial for increasing knowledge and clinical judgment skills. Participants trained using video-simulation training documented …

Reduction Of Poor Birth Outcomes Among Low-Income First-Time Mothers: Gis-Assisted Analysis Of The Nurse-Family Partnership, Elizabeth Macquillan

Research and Creative Activities Poster Day

Poor births occur disproportionately among women in poverty, teens and African-Americans. The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) aims to reduce poor births in Calhoun County among low-income first-time mothers; however, it was unknown if the program recruited effectively across the commuinity and whether outcomes were favorable. Geographic information systems (GIS) mapping using ArcGIS, statistical analysis of county birth records (2012), and 2013-14 NFP data were used to evaluate program recruitment and outcomes. NFP experienced no poor births to blacks or teens despite over-enrolling from these high-risk groups. GIS enables evaluators to examine NFP coverage of the at-risk community to improve program effectiveness.

Pain Management In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Holly N. Hagy

Senior Honors Theses

While pain management in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was thought to be useless due to the infants’ inabilities to experience pain, research has confirmed that infants can and do experience pain at the same, if not greater, level of intensity as adults experience pain. Painful stimuli cause a system-wide sympathetic nervous system response that can cause damage when prolonged or unmanaged. There are multitudes of ways to treat an infant’s pain, but there seems to be a discrepancy between the knowledge that health care workers have regarding pain management in the NICU and the actual implementation of that …

The Effect Of An Antenatal Breastfeeding Intervention On Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy And Intention Among Inner City Adolescents, Jamie El Harit

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

According to Healthy People 2020, infants who are breastfed have improved nutritional, immunological, developmental, and social outcomes (USDHHS, 2014). Despite the benefits of breastfeeding and the focused international efforts to increase levels of breastfeeding, adolescents remain largely unaware and continue to have among the lowest levels of breastfeeding initiation (CDC, 2013; Spear, 2006). The purpose of this EBP project was to reduce the disparities of breastfeeding initiation by increasing breastfeeding self-efficacy and intention in an inner city specialty high school. Synthesis of the evidence demonstrated that needs-based, repeated antenatal education delivered by a lactation expert including breastfeeding peer counselor supports …

Best Nursing Interventions For Educating Parents On Trtosinemia Type I, Julianna Mize

Research Horizons Day Posters

No abstract provided.

How Can Utilizing Signage And Technology Help Minimize Interruptions For Postpartum Breastfeeding Mothers?, Mary Owens

Research Horizons Day Posters

No abstract provided.

Analyzing The Presence Of Bacterial Colonies Within A Neonatal Suctioning Device: The Blue-Bulb Syringe, N. Edward Damron

Research Horizons Day Posters

No abstract provided.

Maine's Breastfeeding Gap: How Initiation And Duration Differ By Socioeconomic Status, Zoe Miller

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The preventive health benefits of breastfeeding for both mothers and children are widely recognized. Leading health authorities recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.

Though breastfeeding rates in the United States have been increasing for the past decade, significant disparities continue across race and socioeconomic status.

Ouch, That Hurts: Childbirth-Related Pain Management And The Inappropriate Replacement Of Traditional Obstetrical Knowledge In Kumaon, Uttarakhand, India, Sabrina Zionts

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Throughout India, obstetrical knowledge and practice has been developed and passed down by generations of women. In many Indian societies, traditional birth attendants, or dais, remain the gatekeepers of childbirth-related knowledge. Yet with the push towards institutional delivery, traditional knowledge and practices are being increasingly replaced with modern and Western ones. While the trend of hospital deliveries has yielded positive health outcomes, its socio-cultural consequences remain unclear. Situated in Uttarakhand’s Kumaon Himalayas, this study employs a bio-social framework and begins to reveal these consequences. Using labor pain management as an entry point, this study argues that the push towards institutional …

Breastfeeding Initiation And Continuation By Employment Status Among Korean Women, Yeon Bai, Nam Mi Kang, Jung Eun Lee, Theo Van Achterberg, Taisun Hyun

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

The objective of this study was to examine the factors associated with the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding among Korean women in relation to their employment status. Data were collected using a web-based self-administered questionnaire from 1,031 Korean mothers living in Seoul with babies younger than 24 months. Demographic characteristics, education on breastfeeding, rooming in, breastfeeding during a hospital stay, and breastfeeding knowledge were examined. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with initiation and continuation at 1, 6 and 12 months according to mothers' employment status. Breastfeeding initiation rates were similar regardless of mothers' employment status. …