The father of the baby is not the patient, but who is paying attention to family assessment and intervention in care delivery? Jalyn Williams, CCN BSN student nurse, is stepping up to the plate in patient education and intervention in family-centered care.
In Jalyn's recent clinical Maternal/Infant rotation in her BSN program, a dad questioned Jalyn and her preceptor RN if dads can suffer from postpartum depression as he feels that he has symptoms. Jalyn's expert nurse preceptor said that she herself was blank, but Jalyn jumped right in and provided education related to dad's emotional health during the postpartum period.
Jalyn educated the family about the overwhelming feelings/thoughts, role changes, and life-changing events that the father of the baby experiences during the postpartum period. Jalyn's patient education is supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in a 2019 web publication: Dads Can Get Depression During and After Pregnancy, Tool. Jalyn's therapeutic communication with the family prompted the expert RN preceptor to immediately order a social work consult and counseling.
During this experience, Jalyn took the opportunity to showcase her knowledge in family-centered care related to depression with the postpartum father. Jalyn was able to provide the appropriate education to the family. This "on-time care" will hopefully help this family, and in particular the dad, right at the onset of his adjustment. The nurse preceptor even admitted that she was unfamiliar with depression in the postpartum period for dads and praised Jalyn's accomplishments in her advanced knowledge and ability to provide family education.
To me, as Jalyn's clinical professor, she has demonstrated a pioneering effort to reach out to the underserved paternal depression population. Paternal depression is an area that is not widely assessed or intervened in OB bedside nursing. Jalyn is a DAISY in Training as she demonstrated extraordinary compassionate care to her patient and her patient's family.