Nursing Diagnoses in Wellness Childbearing Settings

Although most nurses recognize the benefits of nursing diagnoses, difficulties surrounding clinical application of the NANDA system have often occurred. Many nurses feel that the NANDA system focuses mainly on illness or problem diagnoses, which makes application to healthy processes and areas such as childbearing more difficult. Examples of the flexibility of the NANDA system for stating diagnoses involving healthy processes as well as illness/problem diagnoses for postpartum clients are cited to illustrate that with simple modifications and in combination with a conceptual framework, this system can be used to formulate individualized diagnoses in childbearing settings.