In an effort to provide new mothers with appropriate interventions and services during the transitional time frame of the postpartum period, every effort must be made to ensure that services provided are tailored to the needs of the women. Needs of the current generation of American women becoming mothers, reflecting their context, were unexplored. The purpose of this study was to discern the perceived needs of a sample of American women during the postpartum period following hospital discharge and to relate their needs to postpartum healthcare

Design:

A qualitative descriptive research study was conducted.

Setting:

Twenty-one face-to-face interviews were conducted primarily at the women’s homes, their place of employment, or a coffee shop, at the women’s discretion. Three telephone interviews occurred with women outside of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Patients/Participants:

Twenty-four low-risk postpartum women from 6 weeks to 13 months following their deliveries were identified from a criterion-based snowball sampling of the community, primarily from Southeastern Pennsylvania

Methods:

Digitally recorded semi-structured interviews of approximately 60 minutes in length were conducted. Data were transcribed verbatim and content analyzed. Multiple strategies were used to ensure trustworthiness of the study’s findings, including member checks, bracketing and an audit trail.

Results:

Seven themes were identified: including, “upheaval,” “seeking a new social network,” “expanding the new mother’s definition of self,” “is it possible to prepare someone to become a mother,” “breastfeeding: the need for support,” “what to do with a baby: am I doing it right,” and “postpartum services redesigned.”  Results were shared with participants.

Conclusion/Implications for nursing practice:

The need for professional support through community-based interventions after hospital discharge was the overarching prominent need identified. Professional postpartum follow-up was found lacking primarily related to women’s postpartum mental health and breastfeeding support needs. Multiple implications for nursing practice, education and research are discussed.

Keywords:  

Postpartum follow-up, community-based postpartum care, postpartum needs, post-hospital discharge, postnatal care, becoming a mother