Nurses’ professional stigma and attitudes towards postpartum women with severe mental illness

Abstract

Aims and objectives To examine professional stigma and attitudes of parenthood towards postpartum women with severe mental illness and the association between postpartum nurses’ attitudes and nursing interventions that promote motherhood. Background Stigma and attitudes towards parenthood of women with severe mental illness may influence nurses’ clinical practices. Design Cross‐sectional, mixed methods. Methods The Stigma among Health Professionals towards People with Severe Mental Illness, Attitudes towards Parenthood among People with Severe Mental Illness and Nursing Interventions that Promote Becoming a Mother Questionnaires were used in the study, as well as qualitative analysis. Results Sixty‐one postpartum nurses participated in the study. Increased stigma was associated with an increase in negative attitudes towards parenthood among people with severe mental illness, in general, and towards their parenthood skills, in particular. Postpartum nurses reported a decrease in nursing interventions and a therapeutic nurse–client relationship that fosters mother's empowerment. Themes that emerged from the qualitative analysis were postpartum nurse's perceptions of inadequacy, difficulty of postpartum nurses taking responsibility for managing women with severe mental illness and a paternalistic approach to these women, rather than empowerment, regarding infant care. Conclusion Nurses providing care to postpartum women with severe mental illness and their infants may provide fewer routine postpartum interventions due to professional stigma and negative attitudes concerning parenting skills. Nurses should provide individualised, tailored care that allows women with severe mental illness to become a mother to the best of her ability. Relevance to clinical practice Not all women with severe mental illness are capable of caring for themselves and/or their baby. Nurses should provide individualised, tailored care that allows the women with severe mental illness to become a mother to the best of her ability.

Undergraduate nursing students’ stigma and recovery attitudes during mental health clinical placement: A pre/post‐test survey study

“…; Ordan et al . ). The impact of healthcare provider or ‘professional’ stigma on consumers’ recovery is wide‐reaching, with a detrimental effect on the quality of care, and subsequently on consumers’ illness experience, well‐being, and outcomes (Bennett & Stennett ; Stuber et al .…”

“…In the context of a power relationship, such as that between a nurse and a person with mental illness, stigma is defined as differences considered undesirable by the nurse, leading to labelling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination of the person (Link & Phelan 2001). Nurses have been found to hold stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs towards people with mental illness (Ben Natan et al 2015;Fokuo et al 2017;Ordan et al 2018). The impact of healthcare provider or 'professional' stigma on consumers' recovery is wide-reaching, with a detrimental effect on the quality of care, and subsequently on consumers' illness experience, well-being, and outcomes (Bennett & Stennett 2015;Stuber et al 2014).…”

A maternidade de mulheres em sofrimento psíquico: Uma revisão de literatura / The Motherhood of Women in Psychic Suffering: A Literature Review

“…Outros dois estudos discorrem acerca da perspectiva dos profissionais de saúde quanto ao tema da maternidade de mulheres em sofrimento psíquico. Ordan et al (2017) relatam os estigmas sociais presentes na atuação da equipe de enfermagem que presta assistência em unidades de prénatal. Os resultados deste estudo apontam que tem havido um aumento das atitudes negativas em relação às mães em sofrimento psíquico e uma concomitante redução das interações entre equipe de enfermagem e mães que poderiam beneficiar a relação e o empoderamento materno.…”

Estigma en los profesionales de la Salud Mental: una revisión sistemática.

“…Las actitudes de los profesionales de la salud hacia sus colegas con trastorno mental fueron positivas. Ordan et al, 2018 61 enfermeros/as postparto.…”