Implementing Complete Couplet Care

Poster PresentationPurpose for the ProgramRecognizing that the best place for a stable newborn is with its mother, a collaborative effort was made to change practices and workflows to eliminate unnecessary separation of mothers and their newborns. This initiative was given the descriptive name of complete couplet care (CCC).Proposed ChangeTo implement the CCC, that is, the mother/infant dyad would remain intact unless separation was indicated for medical or safety reasons. Nursing interventions, pediatrician examinations, and most testing and procedures would occur at the mother's bedside.Implementation, Outcomes, and EvaluationTo garner support for CCC, nursing staff attended a brainstorming session and were encouraged to contribute strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the proposed practice change. Feedback was reviewed, and recurring themes were identified. Task forces were formed. One group reviewed current literature and implemented skin‐to‐skin contact (SSC) after all appropriate births. Another task force developed a plan for bath at bedside so that initial newborn baths were completed at 6‐ to 12‐hours of life in the mother's room as a teaching tool for parents. The position of newborn assessment nurse (NAN) was created to provide initial care in the delivery room. Task forces combined and began collaborative efforts to implement unit‐wide changes that would facilitate CCC.It was soon recognized that CCC would have far‐reaching implications....

Source: Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing - June 4, 2015 Category: Nursing Authors: Lori Davies, Candice Michael Tags: Childbearing Source Type: research