Multidisciplinary Team Support for Healthy Late Preterm Infants

Poster Title: “Multidisciplinary Team Support for Healthy Late Preterm Infants”
(A staff teaching poster)
Rationale for Program:  Most healthy Late Preterm Infants remain with their mothers in the postpartum period.  In the absence of awareness and specific policies, Late Preterm Infants may not be screened for complications associated with preterm birth. A gap analysis revealed: Limited recognition of special needs for the LPTI; Hospital policies did not address LPTI; Specific lactation support and discharge plans were absent; an Inadequate application of evidence-based practice guidelines existed.

Purpose of the Program: To create an interdisciplinary partnership to optimize care for healthy Late Preterm Infants (LPTI) which are defined as newborns who are 34-36 6/7 weeks gestation and who reside with their mothers on the mother-baby unit.

Program Creativity: A staff teaching poster was created to use for inservices to educate various disciplines about Late Preterm Infant issues and care strategies. An emphasis on the value of interdisciplinary services coordination is the central focus of this teaching poster.  Quick reference pocket cards and Healthcare provider and Patient education handouts are included on the poster.

Program Outcomes:
Outcomes of the project had a positive impact on both in-patient and out-patient/community patient care.

1. LPTI identification and protocol implementation occurred.

2. Awareness of the LPTI’s unique needs was raised with all stakeholders – Labor& Delivery Nurses, Mother-baby Nurses, Lactation, Social Services, Medicine, and other support staff.

3. An improved link to outpatient lactation services transpired.

Timeliness of Initiative:
An increased awareness of Late Preterm Infants’ special needs has recently been acknowledged by key health organizations. The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nursing (AWHONN) provided the conceptual framework for this project’s consumer and health professionals’ education.  The recommendations of the 2005 National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Workshop on Late Preterm Infants were most valuable.

Relevance for women’s health, obstetric, and neonatal nursing:
Success in providing improved, evidence-based care is dependent upon the cooperation and collaboration of a multidisciplinary team of perinatal and community maternity specialists.  This author’s hospital delivered 821 Late Preterm Infants in 2006.  Hospital re-admissions for common LPTI complications such as jaundice, feeding difficulties, dehydration, and infection need to be monitored and data collected and analyzed.

Implications for women’s health, obstetric, and neonatal nursing: Collaboration with other disciplines to improve neonatal health can be like a beautiful choir concert.  Similar to voices in a choir, each health discipline provides its own special qualities, which, as a member of a comprehensive initiative, create an impressive outcome.