Scenario Based Essay
Promoting Individual Health
The aim of this plan is to maintain and promote Molly’s mental health as she goes through an important and potentially difficult postpartum period of her life, where her mental state is more vulnerable to possible decline. It is important for Molly to remain mentally stable and well during this period because any deterioration in her mental health can have serious, negative effects on her new child’s development, both in the short and long term. This plan outlines the factors that can affect Molly’s mental health, identifies needs and risks and lists possible interventions to address those needs and risks.
Molly is a thirty-year old married woman with a three-year old son. She has become a mother again, having recently given birth to her second child. Molly has been diagnosed with postnatal anaemia, which, if left untreated, increases her risk of postnatal depression. Having recently given birth, Molly may be prone to a temporary hormonal imbalance, which can affect her mood and emotional state in the short term. Though Molly’s husband has two weeks of paternity leave, once he returns to work he will be away for long periods at a time. This means that Molly may be isolated at home on her own with her newborn baby as well as her three-year old son, for long periods. Those can be a stressful and difficult periods for Molly to cope with on her own. Molly has received additional support from her parents, however she has complained to her husband that they can be “over-bearing” at times. Having an adequate support network is a crucial factor to promoting Molly’s mental health, therefore maintaining a positive relationship between her and her parents is important. Molly’s three-year old son has missed some developmental milestones with regard to his speech, according to his school. Also they report his concentration levels to be poor. This may be an indication of previous infant regulatory disturbances, such as sleeping problems, eating
The aim of this plan is to maintain and promote Molly’s mental health as she goes through an important and potentially difficult postpartum period of her life, where her mental state is more vulnerable to possible decline. It is important for Molly to remain mentally stable and well during this period because any deterioration in her mental health can have serious, negative effects on her new child’s development, both in the short and long term. This plan outlines the factors that can affect Molly’s mental health, identifies needs and risks and lists possible interventions to address those needs and risks.
Molly is a thirty-year old married woman with a three-year old son. She has become a mother again, having recently given birth to her second child. Molly has been diagnosed with postnatal anaemia, which, if left untreated, increases her risk of postnatal depression. Having recently given birth, Molly may be prone to a temporary hormonal imbalance, which can affect her mood and emotional state in the short term. Though Molly’s husband has two weeks of paternity leave, once he returns to work he will be away for long periods at a time. This means that Molly may be isolated at home on her own with her newborn baby as well as her three-year old son, for long periods. Those can be a stressful and difficult periods for Molly to cope with on her own. Molly has received additional support from her parents, however she has complained to her husband that they can be “over-bearing” at times. Having an adequate support network is a crucial factor to promoting Molly’s mental health, therefore maintaining a positive relationship between her and her parents is important. Molly’s three-year old son has missed some developmental milestones with regard to his speech, according to his school. Also they report his concentration levels to be poor. This may be an indication of previous infant regulatory disturbances, such as sleeping problems, eating
References: Barlow, J., McMillan, A., Kirkpatrick, S., Ghate, D., Barnes, J. and Smith, M. (2010) Health-Led Interventions in the Early Years to Enhance Infant and Maternal Mental Health: A Review of Reviews. Child and Adolescent Mental Health 15(4), p.178-185. Beard, J., Hendricks, M., Perez, E., Murray-Kolb, L., Berg, A., Vernon-Feagans, L., Irlam, J., Isaacs, W., Sive, A. and Tomlinson, T. (2005) Maternal Iron Deficiency Anemia Affects Postpartum Emotions and Cognition. Journal of Nutrition 35(2), p.267-172. Gotlib, I. and Hammen, C. Handbook of Depression (ed.) Preventing First Onset and Recurrence of Major Depressive Episodes. London: The Guildford Press, p.543-544.