Evidence Based Literature Review:

Nursing Care of the Whole Mother

Desiree Cripps, RN
PICO:
In laboring women,
what is the effect of
delivery nurses
providing physical,
emotional, and
educational support on
patients’ reports of their
needs during labor
compared with
procedure-focused care
(Cicek & Mete, 2018).
Nursing Problem & Population
Problem: Responsibilities or routine care can
distract the nurse from providing patient-
centered care. Completing nursing duties is
essential; however, the experience of the
birthing mother can last a lifetime, including
emotional trauma or risks by mode of delivery.
Bedside nurses can impact the experience for
the best outcomes and patient experience.
Consciously incorporating emotional,
physical, and educational support to the
mother can improve patient care (Cicek &
Mete, 2018).

Population: Women of childbearing age

experiencing labor/childbirth in the hospital
setting with nurses as part of their care team.
Nursing
Intervention
The effect of labor
and delivery nurses
providing physical,
emotional and
educational support
to the laboring
patient (Cicek &
Mete, 2018).
Physical Care

v Mothers desire mobility in labor.

Evidence shows shorter labor, less pain,
and stress with improved outcomes than
mothers receiving routine care (Xuefei et
al., 2022).

v Mothers express their need for pain

management. This includes
pharmacological and non-pharmacologic
methods such as relaxation techniques,
hydrotherapy, and massage (Ribeiro et al.,
2018).
Psychological Care
v Women express the emotional
need for privacy, not isolation,
during labor. Mothers felt that
excessive maternity providers and
students violated their privacy.
When a woman has privacy, she
feels safe and relaxed, and the
labor process works more
productively (Cicek & Mete,
2018).

v Mothers want kindness and

genuine interest in their care from
their nurses (Cicek & Mete,
2018).
Knowledge Care
v Mothers want to be educated about
the labor process and receive
information about their care and
progress. Control and safety are part
of the mother’s birth experience when
included in the decision-making of
their care (Cicek & Mete, 2018). A
lack of communication during routine
care or obstetric complications can
lead to trauma (Murphy & Strong,
2018).

v Nurses can provide education during

each stage of labor- optimal
positioning, relaxation techniques,
effective pushing methods, and
breastfeeding instruction (Ribeiro et
al., 2018) (Lake et al., 2020).
Conclusion
The nurse, aware of the patient's
physical, emotional, and
informational needs, can
implement Intermittent
Supportive Nursing Care (ISNC)
by rounding to the patient's
bedside and giving labor support
for 20- 30 min every hour. This
results in less fear, pain, Pitocin
use, and reduced length of labor.
Mothers additionally reported
increased satisfaction with their
labor experience (Cicek & Mete,
2021).
 References

Cicek, O., & Mete, S. (2021). The effects of intermittent supportive nursing care on labor outcome: A quasi-experimental study. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 14(1), 337–345.

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Cicek, O., & Mete, S. (2018). Women’s expectations from delivery nurses of vaginal birth: A qualitative study. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 11(2), 831-839.

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Lake, E. T., French, R., O’Rourke, K., Sanders, J., & Srinivas, S. K. (2020). Linking the work environment to missed nursing care in labour and delivery. Journal of Nursing Management

(John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), 28(8), 1901–1908. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31449691/

Murphy , H. & Strong, J., (2018). Just another ordinary bad birth? A narrative analysis of first time mothers' traumatic birth experiences. Health Care

for Women International, 39 (6), 619-643.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29474791/

Ribeiro, J., de Oliveira, K., Caetano Lira, J., Chagas, D., Pedra Branca, S., Lima, F., Chagas D., Galvão, T., & Coelho, D. (2018). Contentment of

puerperal women assisted by obstetric nurses. Journal of Nursing UFPE / Revista de Enfermagem UFPE, 12(9), 2269–2275.

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Zhao, X., He, J., & Liu, J. (2022). Effects of positive psychological nursing combined with free posture on the prognosis of primipara with singleton spontaneous delivery. Evidence-Based

Complementary & Alternative Medicine (ECAM), 1–5.

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