AREA Breast Care

+erineal Care

TEXTBOOK The woman should wash her breasts daily at the time of her bath or shower. Soa should be a!oided" be#ause soa tends to dry the ni les. This #ould lead to fissures and ossible breasts abs#ess. $t is not ne#essary for women to wash their breasts more than often than this. E%#essi!e washin& means unne#essary mani ulation. +erineal #are should be done as art of the daily bath and after ea#h !oidin& or bowel mo!ement. $f a woman is on bed rest durin& the first hour of birth" you will need to ro!ide erineal #are for her. As soon as she is ambulatory" she #an be instru#ted to erform it herself. +erineal #are should be a ro#edure that is easy to learn and not time #onsumin& so the woman #an s end most of her time with her new #hild" not #om letin& a #om li#ated ritual #are. +erineal #are is a #lean but not a sterile ro#edure. A&en#ies differ as to the ty e of #leansin& that is done and the arti#les and solutions used. $f a#tual washin& is to be done" use #lean &au)e s,uare or a #lean ortion of a wash#loth with soa and water for ea#h stro'e" always washin& from front to

NURSE Clean the ni les with water only in a #ir#ular motion usin& &entle stro'es. (o not a ly owder or lotion this may #ause in&estion to the newborn. There will also be a ossibility that the newborn will not be able to re#o&ni)e the mother*s s#ent.

Clean the erineum on#e from the #leanest to dirtiest -u to down dire#tion..

Cord Care

ba#'" form ubis toward the re#tum. Rinse the area in the same manner and dry. A se#ond #ommon method is to s ray the erineum with #lear ta water from a s ray bottle. Be #ertain that none of the solution enters the !a&ina" be#ause it mi&ht be a sour#e of #ontamination. As soon as the woman is allowed to &et u to the bathroom" she should be instru#ted in how to #arry out her own erineal #are. The bathroom should ha!e an area #lose to the toilet where the woman #an la#e the e,ui ment she needs for #are/ er bottle" s on&es to dry" her #lean ad" and so forth. $nstru#t her on how to remo!e the soiled erineal ad and where to dis ose it. Remind her of the im ortan#e of usin& any #ream or medi#ation that has been res#ribed. Caution her not to flush the toilet until she is standin& u ri&ht. $t is im ortant to remind the arents to 'ee the #ord dry until it falls off after they return home. The use of #reams" lotions and oils near the #ord should be dis#oura&ed. Some health #are a&en#ies re#ommend dabbin& rubbin& al#ohol on the #ord on#e or twi#e a day to hasten dryin&/ others refer that the #ord should be left stri#tly alone. After the #ord fall off it should be left #lean and dry until it has healed.

Two situations were tau&ht0 a. $f the #ord #lam is still atta#hed" Use Cotton balls with al#ohol in #leanin&. Three -1. #otton balls will be used in the base" the #ord and the #lam . b. $f the #ord has fallen off" #otton buds will be used in #leanin& the umbili#us. Three -1. buds will be #onsumed by usin&

$f it has remained as lon& as a wee' it may re,uire #autery with sil!er nitrate to s eed healin&.

Bur in&

+la#in& the baby o!er one shoulder and &ently attin& and stro'in& the ba#' is an a##e table osition for bur in&. Another way is to hold the baby in a sittin& osition on the la " then leanin& the #hild forward a&ainst one hand" with the inde% fin&er and thumb su ortin& the head. 2ayin& the baby in a rone osition #an also be done.

&entle #ir#ular stro'es at the base. The same as throu&h with the umbili#us and its surroundin&s arts in an u ward manner. 3ently la#e or osition the newborn on shoulders ma'in& sure there is a sli&ht for#e on the stoma#h.