Maternal Child and Mental Health Assignment Paper

This case study provides you with an opportunity to immerse yourself in the role of a community health nurse and explore the resources in your community. As you work through the case, reflect on what you have learned about community health nursing in this course and how you can apply it to this case.

Your Role

You are working as a community health nurse in your local health department. One of your roles with the health department is to case manage pregnant women who receive Medicaid. You work with an interdisciplinary team both within and outside the agency.

Team Members

• Anne is a fellow nurse with the health department. She is going on medical leave and has asked you to assume thiscase.
• Christina is a social worker with the healthdepartment.
• Tracey is a case worker from Child ProtectionServices (CPS).
• Mark is a dietician with the local Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)office.

Your Client

Mary is a developmentally delayed 23-year-old Hispanic female in her first trimester of pregnancy. She has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She is currently unemployed but receives monthly Social Security disability checks and health coverage through Medicaid. She lives with a roommate in a project apartment complex in a run-down part of town.

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Anne visited Mary once and provided the following information as she hands the case to you. Mary had a baby removed from her care when she was 19 years old. Mary cannot explain why this baby was removed other than that her house was dirty. She met the father of her current baby on the Internet and states that she has not heard from him recently.  Maternal Child and Mental Health Assignment Paper

During Anne’s visit, Mary stated that she wants to keep the baby. She asked many questions about healthy eating and having a healthy pregnancy. Mary stated that she visited the WIC office, received WIC vouchers, and met with Mark who talked to her about what to eat. She asked for help to find a nice apartment and make other lifestyle improvements so that she can keep this baby.

When Anne started to explore options and difficulties Mary might encounter in raising this child, Anne stated that Mary became agitated and did not comprehend why her baby might be removed from her care other than, “They are against me!”  Maternal Child and Mental Health Assignment Paper

Christina, Mary’s social worker, found that past court records indicated the first baby was removed due to neglect and unsuitable living conditions. At that time, Mary lived with her parents in another county. The records indicated that Mary failed to show up for her court hearing to appeal the decision, so the baby was permanently removed and has since been adopted.

According to Mary’s chart, Tracey from Child Protection Services has stated that CPS plans to place Mary’s newborn baby in foster care due to her cognitive impairment and past history.  Maternal Child and Mental Health Assignment Paper

Your Charge

As your first assignment, you are to identify resources in your community that could assist Mary during her pregnancy and help to optimize the health of her infant.

Next, please go into the Week 3 Discussion, and answer the prompts. Maternal Child and Mental Health Assignment Paper

 

 

MORE INFO 

Maternal Child and Mental Health

Introduction

Pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period can be stressful and painful. If you or someone you know has suffered from depression or anxiety during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, you’re not alone. In fact, up to one in three women suffer from postpartum depression (PPD). Fortunately there are many things that can help ease these feelings:

Pregnancy

Stress during pregnancy can affect the baby in several ways. It can cause health problems for the mother, and it may also affect her child’s development. Stress during pregnancy can cause premature birth, which is when a baby is born before he or she should start to grow normally.

Pregnant women who are under stress may be more likely to have an unhealthy weight gain or not eat as well as they should (which could lead to complications like gestational diabetes). Their babies might also be affected by stress because their bodies produce hormones called cortisol and epinephrine that help them deal with danger or stressors like hunger pangs—but these same hormones increase blood pressure and heart rate when released into the bloodstreams of mothers who feel stressed out about their lives generally

Childbirth

The first few years of your child’s life are the most important, so it’s crucial to make sure you have proper prenatal care. If you’re planning on having a baby, make sure that your doctor or midwife is familiar with how they can help you get through this time in your life.

It’s also important to take care of yourself before and after giving birth—and during labor as well! Your body needs rest as well as food, water and restful sleep (which is why I recommend having a doula). If possible try not to eat anything between 6pm-8pm each day so that when labor begins at 9pm it won’t interrupt digestion too much.

Doing all these things will help ensure that both mother and baby come out healthy!

Postpartum depression and anxiety

Postpartum depression and anxiety are common, but they’re not what you think. Most women experience some symptoms of postpartum depression before giving birth to their baby. The symptoms include feeling sad or hopeless, losing interest in things you used to enjoy doing (like exercise), loss of energy and difficulty concentrating.

What causes these feelings? It’s not completely understood yet but researchers think it may be linked with hormonal changes during pregnancy that can affect your emotions as well as other physical changes such as blood pressure or heart rate.

Postpartum depression can also happen after having a baby if you have low self-esteem or feel like your life has changed dramatically because of the baby’s arrival. These feelings may appear within one week after childbirth but could last for months or longer depending on how severe your condition is

Prenatal care and nutrition

Prenatal care and nutrition are important to both the mental health of pregnant women and their babies. A healthy diet during pregnancy can help prevent birth defects, as well as reduce the risk of postpartum depression later in life. In addition to being nutritious and filling, a balanced diet should include enough protein for a woman’s needs—about 15 grams per day for every 100 pounds she weighs (or more if she is obese). The best sources of protein come from fresh fruits and vegetables; lean meats such as fish or chicken; dairy products like milk or yogurt; beans/peas; nuts/seeds like almonds, flaxseed meal (used in baking), chia seeds (great source of Omega 3 fatty acids) peanuts/peanuts butter etc., eggs white only no shell eggs dark meat only egg yolks

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is the best way to care for your baby. It helps prevent illness, allergies and asthma. Breastfeeding also increases your infant’s chances of getting better sleep and eating more solid foods sooner.

Breastfeeding also has other benefits:

• Breastfed babies have lower rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer later in life than formula-fed infants do when they grow up (1).

• Compared to formula-fed babies who eat solid food at 3 months old, breastfed infants are less likely to be overweight by age 5 years old (2).

Prematurity

If your baby is born before 37 weeks, he or she can be premature. Premature babies require extra care and attention because they are at risk for health problems.

• Learning and behavioural problems: These include delayed language development, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other conditions that may affect their learning abilities in school.

• Long term health problems: The longer they stay in the hospital after birth, the more likely it is that they will have long term health problems such as asthma or cystic fibrosis later on in life.

Babies and toddlers

Depression in babies and toddlers is a serious issue. Babies and toddlers can’t express their emotions directly, so it’s important to be aware of the signs that your child may be depressed.

• Changes in sleep patterns: If your baby or toddler doesn’t want to nap and is sleeping longer than usual, they may be depressed.

• Changes in eating habits: If your baby or toddler starts refusing food as opposed to eating everything on their plate every time, they might be feeling sad or discouraged about something.

• Withdrawing from playmates: A child who prefers being alone over playing with other children may have trouble socializing due to sadness or low self-esteem issues that make them feel isolated at home when other people aren’t around (such as during the summer).

Children under 5 years old

Depression and anxiety are common mental health problems in children, but it’s important to know that your child isn’t alone. The best way to help them cope with stress is to talk about their feelings:

• Ask about their day

• Ask what they did at school or playgroup (if applicable)

• Ask how they feel now

Other ways you can help your child manage their emotions include:

Kids under 13 years old

Children under 13 years old are still developing their brains, so they need to be taught how to cope with stress. They also need to learn how to respond to their emotions and deal with depression and anxiety.

Teenagers and young adults between 13-26 years old

Early intervention is critical to a child’s development, but it’s also important for teens and young adults. If you suspect your child might be experiencing mental health issues, seek help immediately.

You can get support from friends, family members and other caregivers who want to help. If possible—and if they won’t mind—ask them to keep an eye on your loved one while you take some time away or figure out what else needs to be done in terms of treatment options.

While it’s understandable that parents may feel anxious about talking about their children’s mental health problems with other people (especially teachers), this can make things worse because parents may feel like they need more information than the teacher knows about how best approach the situation with their child at home or school (or both). If a friend asks questions like: “Are there any signs I should look out for?” Or “Is there anything else I should do?” Then simply say yes! And then explain why those signs don’t apply here: Your friend just isn’t ready yet; there isn’t enough evidence yet… You get the idea!

Takeaway:

In the end, I hope that you take away something positive from this article. If you’re a mother who has struggled with mental health issues, then maybe this will help put things into perspective for you. Maybe it will give us all some ideas about how we can be better at supporting each other through the hard times and when things seem like they aren’t going so well. The takeaway should be positive and encouraging—something that makes you feel good about yourself as a person and helps remind yourself why being a parent is worth it!

Conclusion

Hopefully, we’ve been able to give you a better idea of what is going on with your pregnant mama and how you can be supportive. Remember, the most important thing is to listen and care. And if she needs someone else to talk to—or need you to listen—just remember that it’s okay! You probably don’t want her feeling like she can’t talk about these issues with anyone else because then they’ll just become more intense when she does eventually confide in someone else later on down the road. It will be different for everyone so just take things day by day until we get there.