An investigation of postpartum mothers’ readiness for hospital discharge and the affecting factors

Introduction: Postpartum period which contains important changes in the woman’s and newborn’s life, WHO recommends monitoring the mother and newborn in health care system, encouraging breastfeeding, monitoring the newborn’s development, and supporting and empowering parents about newborn care.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify postpartum mothers’ readiness for hospital discharge and the affecting factors. Method and material: The study was conducted with 190 mothers who gave birth between May and July, 2014 in a Maternity and Children Hospital located in Mersin. The data were collected through the Identification Form developed by the researcher in line with the related literature and Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale-Postpartum Mother Form (RHDS-PMF).Results: Of all the participants, 84.7% were ready for discharge, 69.4% received information from midwives or nurses about their own care, and 68.7% received information about the baby’s care. Mean scores for the participants’ Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale was found 50.47±12.16 for Personal State, 45.08±12.33 for Knowledge, 21.0±75.68 for Ability, 28.13± 8.91 for Expected Support and 144.76±30.15 for total score. The scores were found to be significantly higher for mothers who reported to be ready for discharge, who stated to have received information about their own care and the baby’s care, who were multiparous, and who would receive support for their care and the baby’s care after hospital discharge (p<0.05).Conclusion: Majority of the participants in this study were found to be ready for hospital discharge and factors affecting readiness for hospital discharge were identifed as informing mothers about their care and the baby’s care after delivery, mothers’ being multiparous, and receiving support about their care and the baby’s care after hospital discarge.