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Kelly Barker's E-Portfolio



Planning Skills

During my Fall 2007 semester, I taught a childbirth education class along with another classmate at the Rutherford County Health Department.  We had to develop of plan of pertinent information to teach to expecting couples about the process of pregnancy, the birth of the child, and newborn care.  My classmate taught the first half of the class and I taught he second half.  It was a smaller group and there were only 3 couples that attended.  It was a great opportunity to be able to teach expecting couples the proper ways to take care of their newborns and answer any questions that they had.  I created a document that consisted of an outline of things to discuss during the childbirth education class.

 

 

Circumcision
 
~ Circumcision procedure is a personal decision
~ Reasons why circumcisions are performed:
-         Health and hygiene
-         Religious reasons/beliefs
-         If the father is circumcised
-         Personal choice
 
~ Procedure is usually done the day of discharge and is observed very closely for bleeding—usually 15 minutes and then 1 hour after the procedure. Later it should be checked every 12 hours to detect any unusually bleeding
~ 2 types of circs:
            1) GOMCO—foreskin is removed and then petroleum jelly (or another type of ointment) is applied    to the tip of the penis with each diaper change for 1-2 days   
o       It is very important to keep the Vaseline on the tip of the penis because it is very sensitive and raw—using it will promote healing and protect the diaper or gauze from sticking to it
            2) PLASTIBELL—plastic ring is left on and will fall off within 7-10 days—tip          of the penis may appear red and have yellow crusts DO NOT ATTEMPT TO         WASH OFF THE YELLOW SUBSTANCE—part of the healing process
o       Vaseline is usually not used because it may cause the ring to pop off
 
~ PAIN?
-         Circs are very painful. 
-         3 types of anesthesia/analgesia are used: 1) Ring bloc, 2) Dorsal penile ring block, and a topical anesthetic
-         Many times sucrose is given to the infant to distract them from the pain—infant sucks on a finger dipped in the solution
 
~ Advantages:
-         Hygiene
-         Social Norm
 
~ Disadvantages:
-         Cold stress
-         Hypoglycemia
-         Aspiration
-         Bleeding
-         Rarely—cutting off TOO much foreskin
 
 
 
 
 
DIAPERING
 
~ Parents who use disposable diapers will go through about 70 per week
 
~ DEMONSTRATION OF PUTTING ON/TAKING OFF A DIAPER
            - Wipe front to back on girls! Not as important on boys…
 
~ Bowels:
-         Meconium stools are the first stool of an infant, composed of materials ingested while the baby was in the uterus
o       Sticky and TAR-LIKE
o       Let the doctor know if you see meconium stools on the 5th day or later of life
o       After the meconium stool, babies will transition to more normal stools—YELLOW/GREEN for breastfed, and YELLOW/TAN for formula fed infants
-         It is normal for a baby to skip a BM for a day or 2—as long as it is soft, this is normal
o       Constipation—rabbit-like pellets; the infant may pull up their legs, strain, and even cry
o       Diarrhea—frequent, watery, green stools; bottom may get red and irritated
 
Which leads up to DIAPER RASH…
 
~ *PREVENTION IS KEY*
-         Change diapers frequently! Wash the baby’s bottom with warm water and apply a diaper rash cream or petroleum jelly
-         Avoid rubbing the skin to dry, instead pat dry
-         Air is good for rashes! If possible—let the baby go without a diaper on for a little while
 
 
[ CONTEST ]
 
 
 
SaFeTy!
 
~ The Infant Car Seat—
-         Put the infant in the middle of the back seat, rear-facing
-         A head roll or rolled blanket may be used to keep the baby’s head from moving
-         Test the seat out in the car to make sure it fits and to practice installation
-         Car seat should be checked by a certified child passenger safety technician prior to putting your baby in the seat for the 1st time
o       Rutherford County Sheriff’s Dept or Murfreesboro Police Dept can do this—call to set up a time, takes about 20-30 minutes
-         Have someone bring the seat to the hospital before mom goes home so that the baby can be put in it and straps adjusted accordingly—then put it in the car when you are ready to take the baby home
-         Seat may be turned forward facing when your infant is 1 year old and weights more than 20 lbs
-         NEVER put a car seat in the front if your car has airbags
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