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Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to identify essential elements to promote active nursing management of labour.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will develop a appreciation for the importance of ensuring the inclusion of nursing supportive care as prominent components of institutional policies and guidelines.
Nurses are the main providers of comfort and supportive care for women in labour in hospitals and healthcare facilities. Of all the professions implicated in the obstetrical care of labouring women in hospitals, nurses spend the most time with women throughout their labour, and are directly and actively involved in the birthing process from initial triage to postpartum care. As such, it is imperative that the development and promotion of nursing supportive care be included in the forefront of policies and guideline. The active nursing management of labour project undertaken at the British Columbia Women’s Hospital is an initiative that seek to encourage nursing supportive care on a daily basis. This project is intended to address the significant role which nurses play in the birthing process through examining the current challenges and barriers inherent in maternity care, assessing the manner in which nursing practice directly impacts the caesarean birth rate and proposing a nursing management approach to labour which emphasizes supportive care and views birth as a natural physiological process. This project is a multifaceted approach to identifying and challenging the existing barriers to the delivery of supportive care to labouring women by nurses. Key elements of the project include; continuous education, standardized collection of data, audit of nursing skills; and maintenance of regular assessment and feedback related to the ongoing development of a more supportive care focused approach to nursing.