Decision-making exercises are necessary for childbearing women. Childbearing is a life-changing exercise that involves a series of decisions and processes. In the process of handling and caring for these clients, the healthcare practitioners are confronted with the choices and rigidity of the patients, and this puts them in an ethical dilemma (Barlow, Hargreaves & Gillibrand, 2018). The patients are torn between their preferences and the guidelines from the ethical point of view. The insistence of the clients on sticking to their initial plans concerning birth and baby caring leads to an ethical dilemma.
The woman suffered from engorgement and in the quest to relieve her from the pain, she refused medication. She believed that the pain would eventually be naturally alleviated. Based on the pain she expressed through her continuous groans, I felt that I should have acted contrary to her decision. Based on the ethical standards, the patient’s choice should be taken into consideration (Barlow, Hargreaves & Gillibrand, 2018). Since she insisted that she preferred the natural pain and engorgement management way, I was left in a dilemma as I felt that I needed to convince her to change her mind.
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Additionally, she detested breastfeeding and preferred to feed the baby through the bottle. Regardless of the explanation on the importance of exclusively and directly breastfeeding the baby for the first six months, she was not ready to change her mind. The fact that she never had any health complications made it necessary for her to embark on the breastfeeding exercise. Nevertheless, I embarked on educating her about the whole breastfeeding issue with regards to the welfare and immunity of the newborn baby. The situation completely changed the initial care plan. Markedly, the fact that the patient had the right to make her own decisions kept me in an ethical dilemma. Even though there were better mechanisms to be upheld, the ethical requirements dictated otherwise. In the end, the patient decision and perception was upheld as it was her preference.
Care Plans
The physical assessment of the mother depicts redness and swelling in the birth canal. The patient further complains of pain in the area. The major goal of the care plan is to apply the nursing interventions to enhance timely healing area within the first three days of the problem without any form of complication. The objective of the care plan is that after the first eight hours after birth, the mother should be able to engage in the prevention measures, physical wellbeing and in a position to manage the situation. The nursing interventions should be undertaken to enhance positive results. For instance, the nurse should maintain rapport and maintain clean bed environment. The rationale behind this intervention is to gain trust, enhance self-esteem, to hasten the healing process and comfort of the patient (Barlow, Hargreaves & Gillibrand, 2018). The evaluation process should reveal the healing process of the patient without any complications.
For the new-born baby, there is a risk of impaired gas exchange in this group. The major goal, in this case, is to establish that the baby is free from any form of respiratory distress. The first intervention, in this case, is to establish the Apgar score within the first five minutes of birth and evaluate the prenatal conditions that affect the placenta. Also, the baby’s airway should be cleared and be kept in a warm environment. Additionally, the newborn’s medication schedule should be followed (Barlow, Hargreaves & Gillibrand, 2018). The rationales behind these actions are; to establish any difficulty in breathing, minimize any accumulation of fluids, minimizing the possibility of cold stress and reducing the possibility of the occurrence of preventable infections.
Reference
Barlow, N. A., Hargreaves, J., & Gillibrand, W. P. (2018). Nurses’ contributions to the resolution of ethical dilemmas in practice. Nursing ethics , 25 (2), 230-242.
