Nursing professionals training on postpartum mental health: before and after.

Abstract

Objective: To develop educational material and train nursing professionals on postpartum mental health.

Method: A before-after quasi-experimental study, conducted from August to December 2023 with 41 professionals from the nursing team of the maternity ward of a university hospital in São Paulo. The planning, educational intervention and pre- and post-intervention audits were conducted according to JBI recommendations. Data were collected using a questionnaire, and the intervention consisted of dialogue, videos and an educational game. Percentage differences were adopted to analyze the intervention.

Results: The before and after compliance rates of the audited criteria were: Healthcare professionals receive ongoing education and training on mental health and perinatal depression (0%-100%, before and after); Women's emotional state after giving birth is assessed (92.7%-97.5%); Designated support persons are included in postpartum mental health guidelines (41.7%-96.9%); The nursing team guides mothers and partners about the expected signs and symptoms of postpartum sadness, encouraging them to seek further evaluation if it worsens or persists for more than two weeks (22.0%-77.5%).

Conclusion: The education of nursing professionals contributed to increased compliance in all audited criteria, which suggests that the training had improved the knowledge and practice of nursing professionals.