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01/09/2014
The report added that women are not receiving the level of post-natal care that is recommended by NICE, and that continuity of care is suffering, ultimately leading to poorer care for women and their babies.
The report, Postnatal care planning, also provides recommendations to help improve post-natal care offered to new mothers. These include increasing the number of midwives to ensure women get the post-natal visits they need.
Mothers and midwives were surveyed for the report's findings. With more than 2,000 midwives, 950 student midwives and 98 maternity support workers surveyed on their views of post-natal care, 65% of midwives felt that the current number of post-natal visits was determined by organisational pressures rather than women's needs.
This contradicts the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations, the RCM said.
Cathy Warwick, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives, explained: "The continuing shortage of midwives particularly in postnatal care and the need to ensure cover for women in labour means that organisational needs are preventing midwives giving care based on clinical need and women are not getting the best possible postnatal care. This can have a massive impact on the health and wellbeing of the mother and her baby after the birth and well into the future."
Elsewhere, midwives feel there is not enough time to give women all the information they would like to about postnatal care. Just 35% of midwives and maternity support workers said they had enough time to review the postnatal care plan with women.
As a result, the RCM said this care being offered cannot be expected to meet women's needs when there is not even enough time to discuss what these needs are in the first place.
The report also highlighted the views of almost 500 women in the UK who were surveyed via the Netmums website in 2013. Around 40% felt they had been discharged too quickly. The RCM said this is "a real concern".
NICE recommends that the "length of stay in a maternity unit should be discussed between the individual woman and her healthcare professional, taking into account the health and well-being of the woman and her baby and the level of support available following discharge."
Cathy Warwick added: "We are seeing women being discharged earlier without adequate support. This leads to readmissions later on and more cost to the NHS. This is a false economy. It is not good for women and babies and it is not good for the NHS."
The latest report by the RCM is the fourth in a series of five to be published this year which looks at the various aspects of post-natal care.
(JP/CD)
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40% Of New Mums Discharged Too Early – RCM
A newly-published report by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), has revealed that 40% of new mothers have been discharged from a hospital before they were ready.The report added that women are not receiving the level of post-natal care that is recommended by NICE, and that continuity of care is suffering, ultimately leading to poorer care for women and their babies.
The report, Postnatal care planning, also provides recommendations to help improve post-natal care offered to new mothers. These include increasing the number of midwives to ensure women get the post-natal visits they need.
Mothers and midwives were surveyed for the report's findings. With more than 2,000 midwives, 950 student midwives and 98 maternity support workers surveyed on their views of post-natal care, 65% of midwives felt that the current number of post-natal visits was determined by organisational pressures rather than women's needs.
This contradicts the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations, the RCM said.
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Cathy Warwick, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives, explained: "The continuing shortage of midwives particularly in postnatal care and the need to ensure cover for women in labour means that organisational needs are preventing midwives giving care based on clinical need and women are not getting the best possible postnatal care. This can have a massive impact on the health and wellbeing of the mother and her baby after the birth and well into the future."
Elsewhere, midwives feel there is not enough time to give women all the information they would like to about postnatal care. Just 35% of midwives and maternity support workers said they had enough time to review the postnatal care plan with women.
As a result, the RCM said this care being offered cannot be expected to meet women's needs when there is not even enough time to discuss what these needs are in the first place.
The report also highlighted the views of almost 500 women in the UK who were surveyed via the Netmums website in 2013. Around 40% felt they had been discharged too quickly. The RCM said this is "a real concern".
NICE recommends that the "length of stay in a maternity unit should be discussed between the individual woman and her healthcare professional, taking into account the health and well-being of the woman and her baby and the level of support available following discharge."
Cathy Warwick added: "We are seeing women being discharged earlier without adequate support. This leads to readmissions later on and more cost to the NHS. This is a false economy. It is not good for women and babies and it is not good for the NHS."
The latest report by the RCM is the fourth in a series of five to be published this year which looks at the various aspects of post-natal care.
(JP/CD)
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