Effects of a deliberative nursing approach on afterpains

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a deliberative nursing approach in the management of mothers with afterpains. It was based on the assumption that mothers who were taught a self-administered method for the relief of afterpains by a nurse using a deliberative nursing approach would be able to effectively utilize their own efforts toward maintaining their self-sufficiency and comfort. It was hypothesized that if these mothers utilized a series of physical measures they would have (1) a decreased incidence of afterpains, (2) a decreased intensity of afterpains, and (3) relief of afterpains without the use of analgesics. The study was conducted on the 21 bed postpartum unit of a 277 bed general, teaching hospital for a two-month period. It was limited to the first 48 hours postpartum. The final sample of those who experienced after pains consisted of 18 multiparous mothers, 11 of whom were in the experimental group and 70 in the control group. Mothers' experiences of and reactions of afterpains were estimated by a questionnaire. Although there was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in mean pain intensity or in mean incidence of afterpains, the mothers who were taught a series of physical measures obtained relief of their discomfort without the use of analgesics. It was concluded that mothers who were taught a series of physical measures in the relief of afterpains were able to utilize their own efforts effectively toward maintaining their self-sufficiency and comfort.