Self- Care program for Improving Practices among Postpartum Women in Rural Areas

Abstract

After childbirth, women start to experience the postpartum period, which is the period in which the female body changes caused by pregnancy return as they were, i.e. the body returns to its pre-pregnancy state. These changes strongly impact on women's lives, as they not only interfere in their biological and physical state, but also on their interpersonal and family relationships, thus the need for puerperal adaptability. This period demands physiological and psychosocial care, so that women can foster self-care and at the same time is able to provide skilled care to her child (Alan et al., 2017). According to Dutta, (2018), both mother and newborn are vulnerable during first 24 hours following delivery. So Postnatal care is the important part of maternal health as it helps to assess the health status of mother and institute an effective therapy to rectify the defect and to note the progress the baby and solve the problems and to formulate any preventive measure to be taken. It also helps to provide necessary information to the mother regarding maternal and newborn care. Nursing as a profession and nurses as main performers are responsible for being aware and sensitive with primary emphasis on diagnosis and treatment of postpartum needs to prevent and improve postpartum problems and complication. Paying attention to present healthcare services at home for mother and her baby is one of such measures. Observing mother's health and health of newborn to reduce health risks and to promote health is among the main duties of community health nurses (Giger, 2016).