A study of mothers' postpartum teaching priorities

This descriptive study investigated the teaching priorities of mothers during the early puerperium. Subjects (N = 117) were English-speaking women who had normal vaginal deliveries and healthy newborns. A questionnaire consisting of 16 maternal and 23 infant care teaching topics was administered during the 3-day postpartum hospital stay. Respondents rated each topic's teaching priority on a 4-point, Very Important to Not Very Important, scale. Results were analyzed with percentages in relation to all mothers, maternal age groups (teens, twenties, thirties), and parity groups (primiparas, multiparas). The maternal care topic of highest priority for all age and parity groups was "Postpartum Complications." The infant care topic of highest priority for all age and parity groups was "Infant Illnesses." The results suggest that these teaching topics are of most concern to mothers during the early postpartum period. The mothers' priorities assigned to other teaching topics varied by age and parity groups.