Health education in the postpartum period

profile of the orientations provided and their implications for maternal and infant care

Abstract

The puerperium is a time of physical, emotional, and social vulnerability for the mother, which makes the provision of qualified guidance essential to promote safe newborn care and support maternal adaptation. This quantitative cross-sectional study aimed to describe the frequency and distribution of topics addressed in educational activities aimed at postpartum women in a public maternity hospital. The guidance was systematized by medical students enrolled in a university outreach project, encompassing different themes related to maternal and child health promotion and prevention of adverse health outcomes. Analysis of the recorded interventions showed a higher frequency of content related to breastfeeding, followed by basic newborn care and the mother’s emotional health, whereas topics such as vaccination and neonatal complications appeared less frequently. The findings reinforce the importance of health education as a strategy to reduce vulnerabilities and promote maternal autonomy. Moreover, they highlight the educational and social role of health sciences students, whose involvement brings the university closer to the community and strengthens humanized, interdisciplinary and integrated care practices. The study concludes that mapping educational activities makes it possible to identify gaps, guide improvements, and support public policies aimed at comprehensive care for the mother-infant dyad.