Abstract

Postpartum depression is one of the most common medical ailments surrounding childbirth. It affects up to 20% of postpartum women and has detrimental effects not only on the mother but her infant and family as well (Navas et al., 2021). Currently, the medical community takes a reactive approach to postpartum depression by screening and treating cases of postpartum depression as they occur. An evidence-based search of peer-reviewed articles found that exercise in the perinatal period had a positive effect on maternal mental health and decreased postpartum depression scores. This is especially true for women who have a history of depression or are currently experiencing postpartum depression. Although all types of exercise have been found to decrease postpartum depression, the most significant change occurred when women completed moderate-level aerobic activities for at least 150 minutes/week (Pritchett et al., 2017).

Instead of being primarily reactive when it comes to postpartum depression, the medical community should be proactive by educating perinatal women that exercise can decrease their chances of developing postpartum depression. This paper discusses a low-cost educational campaign designed as a benchmark project. The educational campaign consists of a flyer, brochure, video, and changes to discharge paperwork. The timeframe from the start of the project to disseminating information to patients would take approximately 20 weeks and includes gaining managerial support, creating the educational material, and educating staff.

The Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and a two-question survey will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of this educational campaign.

Date of publication

Spring 4-26-2024

Document Type

MSN Capstone Project

Language

english

Persistent identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10950/4656

Degree

Masters in Nursing Education

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