Mental Health Concerns and Nursing Professional Practice Assignment

This assignment analyzes a case study of Lucinda, a 22-year-old pregnant woman experiencing mental health challenges, including anxiety and concerns about her second pregnancy. The assignment addresses the risks associated with closely spaced pregnancies and the importance of pharmacological interventions to mitigate potential complications. It explores the client's anxiety and low mood, proposing psychotherapy as a means of improving her mental health and building a therapeutic relationship. The assignment also identifies ethical issues related to confidentiality and autonomy in nursing practice, emphasizing the need to protect patient information and support informed decision-making. The student references relevant research studies to support their analysis and recommendations.

Running head: NURSING PROFESSIONAL
NURSING PROFESSIONAL
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

1NURSING PROFESSIONAL
Answer number 1
It is reported in the case study that Lucinda is just of 22 years and is pregnant for the
second time in the gap of 8 months. It is an urgent risk area which could lead to health issue
because her first pregnancy was complicated as the child showed posterior presentation and her
labor was prolonged up to 12 hours. As Lucinda’s physical health is not ready to take care for
her second child could lead to poor health outcome. It is seen in the research of El Hachem et al.
(2017) that early pregnancy or frequent pregnancy could increase of miscarriage, poor
development of child.
Answer number 1b
It is noted that Lucinda is at the risk of development of health complication due to second
pregnancy, nurse should provide pharmacological intervention that can lower the chance of
miscarriage and pregnancy complication for whole gestation period. It is evident that in the case
of second pregnancy in gap of less than three years, the body needs extra nutrient and mineral for
healthy development of child. Hence, nurse in consultation with the health care professional can
provide effective medicine for her good health (Haddad & Davis, 2016).
Answer number 2a
Client is worried for her second pregnancy which has led to anxiety and low mood. She is
continuously thinking how would she able to take care for her second child when at present she
is unable to take care of her first child. The mental health concern of anxiety has led to thoughts
of hopelessness and low self-esteem in taking care of the child. It is evident from the research of
Biaggi et al. (2016) that due to anxiety and low mood could even complicate her second
pregnancy and lead to health complication.

2NURSING PROFESSIONAL
Answer number 2b
With objective to solve her mental health concern, nurse can provide psychotherapy in
order to motivate and encourage Lucinda for her second child and healthy living. By mean of
effective communication and humble language, nurse can effectively build therapeutic
relationship with client which can be helpful in gaining trust and making informed decision. It is
observed in the study of Gu et al. (2015) that psychotherapy is the most beneficial method to
improve the mental health of the individual, and play role in gaining interest and confidence in
life. Therefore, this could be provided in weekly basis and observation can be made in her
behavior and thinking ability.
Answer 3.
According to the case study, the two ethical issue of maintaining confidentiality and
autonomy has been identified. It is observed in the case study that Lucinda is worried and
anxious for her pregnancy, and nurse need to gather various health information like vitals signa
and social history. Therefore, there is the need to maintain confidentiality of the health
information. Further, details about the treatment also requires to be provided by the nurse which
is essential part of autonomy to make informed decision which could bring healthy outcome
(Petrova, Dewing & Camilleri, 2016).

3NURSING PROFESSIONAL
Reference
Biaggi, A., Conroy, S., Pawlby, S., & Pariante, C. M. (2016). Identifying the women at risk of
antenatal anxiety and depression: a systematic review. Journal of affective disorders, 191,
62-77.
El Hachem, H., Crepaux, V., May-Panloup, P., Descamps, P., Legendre, G., & Bouet, P. E.
(2017). Recurrent pregnancy loss: current perspectives. International journal of women's
health, 9, 331.
Gu, J., Strauss, C., Bond, R., & Cavanagh, K. (2015). How do mindfulness-based cognitive
therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A
systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies. Clinical psychology
review, 37, 1-12.
Haddad, A., & Davis, A. M. (2016). Tobacco smoking cessation in adults and pregnant women:
behavioral and pharmacotherapy interventions. Jama, 315(18), 2011-2012.
Petrova, E., Dewing, J., & Camilleri, M. (2016). Confidentiality in participatory research:
Challenges from one study. Nursing Ethics, 23(4), 442-454.