A Comparison of Adolescent and Adult Mothers' Satisfaction With Their Postpartum Nursing Care

Abstract

The purpose of this matched-cohort survey was to determine whether there is a difference between unmarried adolescent mothers and married adult mothers in terms of satisfaction with inpatient postpartum nursing care. Eighty adolescent/adult postpartum mother pairs from a mid-sized teaching hospital were matched according to parity, mode of delivery, infant health status, and infant feeding method. Adolescents scored lower than adults on both the Experiences of Nursing Care Scale and the Satisfaction with Nursing Care Scale of the Newcastle Satisfaction with Nursing Scales. Among the adolescents, post-caesarean mothers were less satisfied than mothers who had delivered vaginally. Adolescent mothers' dissatisfaction with nurse availability and nurse-client communication are possible explanatory factors. Future qualitative studies will inform the design of interventions to improve satisfaction among adolescent mothers. Keywords: postpartum, nursing care, health services, immigrant, women