MEDizzy - A nurse enters the room of a postpartum client who delivered

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Care of Childbearing Families

A nurse enters the room of a postpartum client who delivered a healthy newborn 36 hours previously. The nurse finds the client crying. When asked what is wrong, the client replies, “Nothing really. I’m not in pain or anything but I just seem to cry a lot for no reason.” Based on this information, what should be the nurse’s first intervention?

ExplanationA key feature of postpartum blues is episodic tearfulness without identifiable reason. Interventions for postpartum blues include allowing the client to relive her birth experience. The client’s support person should be given information about postpartum blues before the client is discharged from the hospital. However, contacting that individual should not be the first intervention. There is no need to notify the HCP, as postpartum blues is a common self-limiting postpartum occurrence. Reminding the client that she has a healthy baby is a nontherapeutic communication technique that implies disapproval of the client’s actions.