Prenatal Teaching Plan
Introduction
Nursing care transcends physical assistance. In this case, nurses provide patients with crucial information regarding various healthcare conditions and management strategies to restore health and wellness. A teaching plan allows nurses to offer detailed explanations and instructions regarding medical care to promote treatment compliance and make lifestyle changes. It also aids in improving communication of medical information from healthcare professionals to patients. This paper is an individualized prenatal teaching plan for a 16-year-old teenager who is 12 weeks pregnant with her first child. The plan will describe the client’s growth stage using developmental theory, stage of pregnancy and associated symptoms, health education needs, appropriate education content and teaching strategies for the client.
Growth and Development
Paige is in the fifth stage of Erik Erickson’s theory of psychological development. Erickson named the stage ‘identify v. role confusion that occurs during adolescence from 12 to 18 years. Adolescents in this stage search for a personal identity and sense of self through an intense exploration of personal goals, values, and beliefs (Tyler, 2020). Supporting adolescent during this stage of exploration and providing them with the freedom to explore diverse roles increases their likelihood to emerge with a strong sense of self and a feeling of control and independence.
Paige will be developing her self-identity, which is instrumental to making life decisions in the future. Her roles as a student, girlfriend and athlete are changing due to her pregnancy. Based on the stage, changing roles may be stressful for the client, leading to confusion about what she is expected to do.
Paige’s everyday life as an adolescent will change as she is expected to be a mother in a few months, leading to a developmental crisis. At her age, she will be highly preoccupied with her appearance and how people judge her. However, providing the necessary support while providing her with the required space to develop their sense of self will improve outcomes. Allowing Paige to take control of her situation prepares her to make informed life decisions in the future.
Stage of the Pregnancy and associated Signs and Symptoms
Paige is 12 weeks pregnant in the first trimester of pregnancy. The first trimester lasts between one to thirteen weeks. During this period, the client is expected to experience nausea with or without vomiting, marked by morning sickness. The patient noticed physical changes due to hormonal changes, such as swollen and tender breasts. The client will also have increased urination. The patient will also experience fatigue linked with a sudden increase in progesterone hormone (Jordan & Cockerham, 2023).
Readiness to Learn
The client showed initiative to learn as she sought medical care and involved her mother during the prenatal visit. However, Paige’s body language portrays a lack of interest in learning. She remains quiet and makes limited eye contact during the visit. Paige rolls her eyes when her mother enquires whether she can breastfeed the baby. Having negative body language may discourage the health professional from providing health information. The healthcare professional should determine why the client is remaining quiet. Paige may be shy speaking about breastfeeding in the presence of her mother. The support from her boyfriend may also encourage her readiness to learn.
Priority Health Education Needs
Cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning domains will be used to meet Paige’s health education needs (Sariem et al., 2022). First, the cognitive domain will aid in meeting the patient’s health education needs through learning and understanding the pregnancy. The healthcare provider should educate the patient about pregnancy trimesters and anticipated signs and symptoms. The patient will know what to expect and how to handle incoming changes.
Thus, the patient should have adequate sleep and rest adequately to deal with her fatigue (Jarvis, 2023). She should keep crackers near her bed and eat them before getting up to reduce nausea and vomiting. She should also practice good oral hygiene after vomiting. The client also needs more information concerning breastfeeding and recommended skills and techniques. If Paige decides not to breastfeed, the healthcare provider should offer information on alternative feeding methods.
Subsequently, Paige seems uncomfortable after her mother enquires about breastfeeding. Therefore, the affective domain will be vital to understand her feelings concerning breastfeeding. She should explain to the healthcare professional why she is uncomfortable with the idea. Another affective domain need will be expressing her feelings concerning teenage pregnancy. The pregnancy may be stressful and scary for her age. Thus, she should express her challenges to learn how to cope with being a mother at a young age.
Nonetheless, Paige has never breastfed before. Therefore, the psychomotor domain will be vital for the patient to develop physical skills such as procedures and techniques for breastfeeding the baby (Sariem et al., 2022). In this case, Paige should be trained in latching the baby to her breast. Paige should master skills such as supporting the child’s neck, shoulder, and back to allow them to tilt their head and swallow easily.
Appropriate Education Content
The healthcare provider should inform Paige what her body needs during pregnancy, including a proper nutritional plan. Her diet should incorporate foods rich in protein, calcium, and vitamin D. Calcium supplements reduce preeclampsia and preterm birth risks. She should also consume prenatal vitamins such as folic acid and iron to prevent the potential risk of iron deficiency anemia, which is common during pregnancy.
Subsequently, the nurse should demonstrate breastfeeding techniques while allowing Paige to demonstrate. The strategy is an effective source of reinforcement and feedback (Astle et al., 2023). The nurse should also seek to understand Paige’s concerns about breastfeeding and educate her on breastfeeding benefits. For instance, breast milk enhances the child’s gastrointestinal maturation and contains immune factors to fight diseases. Paige may also be worried about her increased weight and appearance towards her peers. However, breastfeeding will aid in bringing mothers to their pre-pregnancy weight quickly (Astle et al., 2023). Breastfeeding is also a cost-effective way to feed the baby, reducing the expenses required.
Teaching Strategies
The nurse should recommend Paige to attend a teaching program for teenage mothers. Paige is concerned about whether she will balance pursuing her education to become a nurse and being a mother. She is also worried about motherhood. Through the teenage mothers’ teaching program, Paige will have a safe space to share and discuss her concerns with other young mothers in a similar situation. She will also have some privacy to speak about her breastfeeding concerns. The one-on-one teaching strategy will allow Paige to ask questions and obtain feedback from qualified personnel such as nurses and insights from other teenage mothers.
The nurse should also recommend that Paige attend support groups such as teenage pregnancy, pregnancy classes or expectant groups. Paige will develop acceptance and willingness to learn about motherhood through such groups. She will also learn from other people’s perspectives in a similar situation. Based on the cognitive domain, the nurse will educate the patient on proper nutrition, exercise and the significance of prenatal care. A healthy diet aids in improving and maintaining immunity for the mother and the baby, while exercise prepares the body for the physical demands of labor. Seeking prenatal care helps identify complications, track a child’s development, and offer appropriate immunization and nutritional advice.
Teaching and Developmental Stage
Paige’s developmental stage impacts the learning and teaching strategies applied. Using simple and direct language is vital for the patient to understand the message. Coupling lectures with demonstrations will also keep Paige engaged and interested in learning.
In this case, teaching the patient breastfeeding skills and allowing her to demonstrate promotes effective learning. Adolescence is a unique and sensitive period of development where hormones affect an individual’s mood and emotions (Tyler, 2020). Thus, the nurse should begin the teaching process by learning Paige’s feelings and emotions to ensure they do not affect the learning process negatively.
The nurse should portray active listening skills to identify and understand the patient’s concerns. Subsequently, the nurse should collaborate with the client to devise appropriate teaching strategies. The nurse should allow Paige to participate in decision-making by setting mutual goals for health promotion.
Conclusion
Teenage pregnancy will be stressful and challenging to process. Paige’s regular life routine as a student and life goals/priorities will change. However, this teaching plan will effectively assist the client through assessing her readiness to learn, developmental stage, and crucial teaching strategies. The teaching plan has also addressed holistic health education needs for the client to incorporate them into the health promotion strategies.
Thus, addressing Paige’s cognitive, affective and psychomotor health education needs will assist and guide her toward a successful pregnancy period. She will gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to make informed decisions concerning her situation.
References
Astle, B. J., Duggleby, W., Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G. G., Stockert, P. A., & Hall, A. (2023). Potter and Perry’s Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing-E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Jarvis, C. (2023). Physical examination and health assessment-Canadian E-book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Jordan, R. G., & Cockerham, A. Z. (2023). Common Discomforts of Pregnancy. Prenatal and Postnatal Care: A Person-Centered Approach, 233.
Sariem, C. N., Dapar, M. P., Lenka, N. M., Kolawole, J., & Aguiyi, J. (2022). Applying Psychological and Educational Health Models to Determine the Effect of a Pharmacist-led Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention on Tuberculosis Treatment Outcomes in Plateau State, Nigeria. Innovations in Pharmacy, 13(4), 10.24926/iip.v13i4.5031. https://doi.org/10.24926/iip.v13i4.5031
Tyler, S. C. (2020). Human Behavior and the Social Environment I [Textbook].
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