A Unit-Based Postpartum Fall
Prevention Strategy
Recently. A women’s hospital that averages over 500 births per month recorded a postpartum fall rate that exceeded the national mean for adult surgical patient fall.The national average for adult surgical patient falls per 1,000 patient days during the 12-month time period was 2.79.This mean was used for comparison since there was no national mean for postpartum falls.
Although actual circumstances varied ,the Nursing Practice Council for the postpartum unit was concerned that the unsatisfactory fall rate could be due to a lack of patient education and staff awareness.A preliminary review of post-fall reports revealed that some women were getting up to the bathroom without calling for staff assistance.Following the fall.women would report to their nurse that did not fully understand the effects and duration of epidural analgesia, and did not realize their legs were “too weak” for walking.Although no injuries