Nurse cares for pregnant women in their homes
Twice a week, field nurse Michele Manning enters Fanta Traore’s Drexel Hill home and checks on the 17week pregnant mom.
“We listen to my blood pressure,” Traore explained. “We listen to the baby’s heartbeat. She makes sure everything is OK before I go to my appointment.”
The mom of a 10-year-old son, Traore was referred to the Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic Tiny Blessings Program because of irregular blood pressure readings, according to Manning, the nurse who is caring for her.
“She’s beautiful,” Manning said of Traore. “She’s the best patient. She’s been experiencing difficulty with irregular blood pressure readings ... Considering what’s going on with the pandemic, they reached out to us.”
Manning established the Tiny Blessings Program 25 years ago when hospitals had shortened the stay for moms who delivered a baby to 24 hours. With moms still needing care after that time, Manning created Tiny Blessings for nurses to visit them in their homes to provide postpartum care and check-ups. Over time, the program has evolved to also provide prenatal and infant care services, especially for higher risk populations. There are 10 maternal care nurses in this program who visit an average of six patients a day.
Manning explained some of the services they provide.
With well mom/baby visits, the nurses will do a physical assessment, particularly if the delivery was a C-section. They’ll help with any questions related to breast or bottle-feeding.
“We provide support in the care of the baby,” Manning said, adding that the nurses answer a lot of questions about breastfeeding and infant reflexes. “A lot of parents are concerned about their babies.”
For prenatal clients, fetal heartbeat, gestational diabetes and blood pressure monitoring are among the services provided.
“It’s really helpful,” Traore said of her Tiny Blessings visits that occur between monthly doctor’s appointments. “It’s amazing because the hospital really freaks me out right now. It puts my mind at ease. When she comes, she’s really soothing.”
She said the home nurse visits make her feel safe and secure.
“They’re taking the necessary precautions to keep me safe and healthy,” Traore added.
Manning said comfort is crucial, especially now with anxiety high in many of her patients, particularly those close to delivering their babies. Besides the fear of contracting the virus, these women are limited as far as who can go into the delivery room with them. Manning said their partner can accompany them, but if the partner leaves the room at any time, they can’t come back.
“You just want to reassure them that we are a very caring network, just to ensure the safety of the patient and the baby,” Manning said. “The times are very difficult, very unique and very unknown. We’re doing the best that we can to keep (them) safe.”
The 27-year nurse explained there aren’t a lot of other alternatives for moms to having their babies in hospitals and that hospitals are being hyper-vigilant in their practices to keep these moms and their babies safe, particularly as pregnant women may be more at risk for contracting coronavirus due to a weaker immune system.
“This is such a new virus, we’re not really sure of the effect of the virus on moms,” Manning said.
In an abundance of caution, many doctors have resorted to tele-health visits when possible.
And, Manning said, “Our referrals have increased a lot.”
But, not only around pregnancy. Manning said the program has gotten requests for infant care that would normally take place in a pediatrician’s office. “They are trying to limit the amount of people seen in the office,” she said, explaining the Tiny Blessing nurses will perform weight checks and new parenting guidance.
Even when dealing with a COVID-19 positive mother, Manning said the Tiny Blessings nurses take a necessary precuations.
“It’s difficult,” she explained, “it’s difficult because a lot of families are in a very small living space.”
However, she added, “We haven’t seen the virus transmit from the mom to the baby.”
And, Manning said, breastfeeding continues to be encouraged.
Traore’s due date isn’t until Oct. 7 and through her Tiny Blessings visits, she’s learned to identify when to notify the doctor regarding her blood pressure.
“If I’m feeling dizzy or if I feel lightheaded,” she said.
In the meantime, Traore is limiting as much of her activity as she can to keep herself and her baby as safe as possible.
“I try not to go outside unless I have to,” she said. “I try to be as careful as I can.”
Her hope for her baby is simple. “Just to be born healthy,” Traore said. “I just want a healthy baby.”