On August 17th, 2017, The National Accreta Foundation, The Institute for Perinatal Quality Improvement and The Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine pushed out an online awareness campaign on P.O.S.T.B.I.R.T.H. warning signs. What is this awareness campaign all about?
P.O.S.T.B.I.R.T.H. is an acronym for postpartum complications warning signs that need immediate attention for the safety of the mother. The maternal mortality and morbidity rates in the United States are higher than ever before. 61% of childbirth-related deaths occur postpartum and most of those occur in the first 42 days after birth.¹
In order to reduce the postpartum complications and deaths, awareness needs to be made for families and the providers caring for families in birth and postpartum, including nurses. Oftentimes, nurses are the main provider of postpartum day-to-day care and many do not know all of the P.O.S.T.B.I.R.T.H. signs, according to a new study, Nurses’ Knowledge and Teaching of Possible Postpartum Complications, published in MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing.²
To assist with this awareness campaign, spreading the warning signs far and wide online is going to help families to learn them and educate themselves. If you are on Twitter, you can search for #postbirth and use it when sharing the acronym. You can also utilize and share this consumer page. Education and awareness can save lives!
References
¹MacDorman, M. F., Declercq, E., Cabral, H., & Morton, C. (2016). Recent Increases in the US Maternal Mortality Rate: Disentangling Trends From Measurement Issues. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 128(3), 447-455.
²Suplee, P. D., Bingham, D., & Kleppel, L. (2017). Nursesʼ Knowledge and Teaching of Possible Postpartum Complications. MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 1. doi:10.1097/nmc.0000000000000371
Photos: Aditya Romansa; Daan Stevens; Piron Guillaume on Unsplash.com
