Women’s expectations and preferences for care of the newborn in the immediate postpartum period
Women’s expectations and preferences for care of the newborn in the immediate postpartum period

Summary/Abstract: Background: The Regulation of the Minister of Health issued on 16th August 2018 addressed the matter of the organizational standard of perinatal care which determines guidelines concerning care of the newborn baby, in which skin-to-skin contact and early breastfeeding are important.Aim of the study: The aim of this study is to explore women's preferences concerning care of the newborn in the immediate postpartum period.Material and methods: 130 patients attending the Pro-Familia specialist hospital in Rzeszow participated in this research. The cohort consisted of pregnant women who had attended the doctor supervising their pregnancy before delivery. The research was carried out from March to April 2013 and the data collected was statistically analyzed, assuming a significance level of p<0.05.Results: Pregnant women most often expressed a preference of an accompanying person to cut the newborn’s umbilical cord (59.2%), with 23.1% preferring a member of the medical team to do so. The majority (89.2%) of pregnant women wanted their baby to be laid on their stomach immediately following delivery to ensure skin-to-skin contact. In terms of Apgar scoring, 69.2% of women expected information about the Apgar score of their newborn immediately after delivery. Most women (60%) wished their newborn to be given routine vaccinations for hepatitis B and tuberculosis (BCG). Patients most often declare that they want to breastfeed exclusively (77.7%), with 29.2% of women expressing a wish to obtain more information about breastfeeding and 31.5% wishing to consult with a lactation specialist.Conclusions: Pregnant women expect skin-to-skin contact immediately after delivery, the umbilical cord to be cut by an accompanying person and would like to be told their newborn’s Apgar score. The women studied prefer exclusively breastfeeding, and express a wish to obtain information regarding lactation, and expect to be able to consult with a lactation specialist.

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