Friday Friday Friday! Wahoo! Today is my last day in clinic at my current position and it’s bittersweet. I’m excited to move onto the next adventure but sad to leave behind some really awesome patients and co-workers.
As I was packing up my office, I found some handouts I had forgotten about and wanted to highlight them on the Five today. Three have to do with mental health, one for first trimester nausea and vomiting, and one as an uncommon intervention for back pain in pregnancy.
I hope you find them useful too!
First Trimester Nausea and Vomiting
Has anyone had the 8 week new OB mama that is so tired and exhausted from vomiting all week long that it is a struggle to get a true history of present illness? Enter this nausea and vomiting scale.
For starters, it guides the patient through a number of simple questions that tell the provider exactly how you are struggling. Secondly, the tool has a scoring system at the bottom – something that is valuable when comparing if an intervention resulted in an improvement or a worsened condition. Lastly, the same tool can be used week to week, or visit to visit, to evaluate if the patient is improving.
TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) for Back Pain
Back pain in pregnancy is inevitable. And some women have labor strictly in their back. When positioning, stretching, massage, chiropractor care, acupuncture, epsom salt soaks and heat packs don’t work, I like to remember TENS units.
In my experience, women just don’t know a lot about them. Enter this handout!
When I was learning midwifery in Colorado, TENS units were super popular in women desiring natural childbirth. A lot of times, a mama would show up to the triage unit with her TENS unit on for contraction pain.
Postpartum Support International’s Perinatal Mental Health Discussion Tool
The pandemic has been hard on everyone. But oh goodness, if you had a miscarriage, a pregnancy, a birth or were postpartum, it was really hard. There are a lot of times when we don’t even have the words to describe how we are feeling. That’s why I love this tool. The tool is a guide for when the words aren’t necessarily there.
It’s also a great tool to hand out at a postpartum visit. Perinatal mood disorders can occur well after the birth at a time when the patient is already discharged from their obstetric office’s care. By putting a resource in someone’s hands, you’re providing them a lifeline to hold onto if mental health becomes a struggle.
Postpartum Support Virginia’s Path to Wellness
I love Postpartum Support Virginia. I’ve referenced them many times on the blog. They seem to be in the process of updating their handouts and they are doing a great job. This handout offers a nice summary of the path to wellness for perinatal mood disorders. From my perspective, it’s a great tool for talking about the options. Well done guys!
(I should also mention the importance of reviewing your community resources as well!)
Weekly Online Support Groups (from Postpartum Support International)
Again, I love this organization.
I must hand this flyer out 10 times every week.
I hope that support groups will start meeting in person. Until then, PSI has bolstered their online platform to reach as many women as possible. Keep up the good work guys. We need your organization more than ever!
All of these are always available on the RESOURCES page!
What are your favorite handouts? Do you have a handout to share? Tag me on the insta and let me know!
I tend to think we need handouts for things like “Breastfeeding through Food Introduction with Your 6 month-old Baby” or “Best Exercise Ideas for Pregnancy.” Maybe I’ll get to creating those someday….
Enjoy your weekends and do something that makes you SMILE.
Hugs,
Jamie
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