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Excerpt
The purpose of this pilot project was to determine if home follow-up services performed by maternity staff nurses would reduce nonroutine health care expenditures for mothers and infants during the first 6 weeks after delivery. A nurse with expertise in labor and delivery or postpartum care was paired with a newborn nursery nurse to provide expert care and address safety issues. Families enrolled in the program received a telephone call 24 hours after discharge, a home visit within 72 hours of discharge, a second follow-up telephone call 1 week after the home visit, and a second home visit the third week postpartum. Twenty-nine mother-infant dyads were selected from the hospital delivery logbook.
Results showed that one mother in the project group and three mothers in the control group received nonroutine health care during 6 weeks after delivery, with two mothers in the control group requiring hospitalization. Eight infants in the project group and 13 infants in the control group required nonroutine health care, with one infant in the control group requiring hospitalization. Estimated charges for unscheduled health care services for the two groups were $646 for all project participants and $6,631 for the control group.
The nurses assessed mothers and infants in the project group, provided knowledge regarding infant care and self-care for mothers, made referrals for additional resources, and helped in scheduling follow-up appointments. Participating nurses reported that the community experience effected changes in their in-hospital care and teaching.
