Prenatal Letters BY

Mary 1. Crawford, R.N., M.A., C.N.M. Assistant Professor of Obstetric Nursing

and Assistant Director of Nursing Service Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center

New York, N. Y.

One of the most difficult things to evaluate in teaching ma- ternity nursing is how well the basic student has learned to explain the facts about pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the puerperium to parents in terms which they can understand, and, in terms which will motivate these parents strive for the best possible health for themselves, their children, and their grandchildren. A student may recognize the need for health teaching, but if she does not know how to translate obstetrical knowledge into lay terms she is very apt to dodge the opportunities which present themselves for teaching either in public health or in the hospital. She clings to work which could easily be taken over by non- professional personnel because it helps her to feel secure and provides an excuse that there isn’t time for the luxuries of teach- ing. The instructor in maternity nursing can put a great deal of emphasis on the role of the maternity nurse in teaching parents, but if the tries to follow through in helping the student to im- prove this skill at the bedside, her very presence may well prevent the student from accomplishing her objective.

Requiring the student to write out her explanations to parents is one way to get her to think through how this material might be explained and also gives the instructor an opportunity to offer suggestions for improvement. In order to make this assignment more interesting, the student may be asked to write a series of

renatal letters to a friend whom she knows very well. If the friend is pregnant this makes it even more practical and sig- nificant. However, if the student does not have a friend who is pregnant, she may be asked to select one of her friends who is married, and ima ine that she has just received a letter from this

her to tell her all she should know about the subject. The student is then asked to write a series of monthly letters to this friend, starting with the third month of pregnancy and ending with a letter after the baby is born. One of these letters should be to the father. Her objective in writing these letters is to keep the parents

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friend, informing a er that she in going to have a baby and asking

informed on what to expect, and to help them understand their own needs and those of their children, and how these needs can best be met. It is explained to the students that the letters will be evaluated on the followin basis: (1) content included; ( 2 ) originality of ideas; (3) a % aptation to the reader's interests, understanding, and needs; (4) degree of motivation included in explantations; and ( 5 ) correctness of written form.

I might add that one student showed considerable ingenuity which posed a problem for the instructor. She had been given two months to complete the assignment. Unfortunately she awakened to the fact that there was but one week remaining until the assignment was due with only one letter written. Even more unfortunate was the fact that this was the week the World Series was in town, and, being a baseball fan, she had accepted a gift of tickets to all the games. This posed a problem but not one which stumped this particular student. As the instructor under- took the task of grading the letters handed in by this student. she found just two letters. The first letter explained how pleased she was to hear that her friend was pregnant and included a most adequate review of what to expect during the third month, what was happenm in the mothers body, and what she should be

second letter told how sorry she was that her friend had had a miscarriage, and explained in beautiful detail what we know about reasons for miscarriage and what her friend should be thinking about in preparation for becoming pregnant again.

doing to provi % e the best possible environment for her baby. The

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