Indah Mawarti, Yusnilawati Yusnilawati, Putri Irwanti Sari, Rina Oktaria, Birgitta Arta Milawati, Halijah Halijah

Education and Demonstration of Postpartum Exercise for Mothers After Giving

Introduction

Education and demonstration of postpartum exercise for mothers after giving. Learn about effective postpartum exercise education for mothers after childbirth. This initiative improves maternal knowledge & skills for recovery, promoting uterine involution and preventing complications.

Abstract

Hospitals play a key role in promoting health through education, especially for patients and their families. One effective method to support postpartum recovery is postpartum exercise, which helps restore bodily functions, promote uterine involution, and prevent complications. At the Mina Inpatient Ward of RSI Arafah Jambi, many postpartum mothers had not received proper education about these exercises. To address this, a community service activity was held from April 29 to May 12, 2025, targeting 16 postpartum mothers. Five mothers received only verbal education due to limited mobility, while 11 joined both education and exercise demonstrations. Observations and discussions showed improved knowledge and skills, with most mothers able to recall and correctly perform the exercises. Their active participation and positive feedback highlighted the effectiveness of the educational approach. This initiative proves valuable in enhancing postpartum recovery and is recommended for continued integration into hospital health promotion programs.

Review

This community service initiative addresses a vital area of postpartum health, highlighting the critical role hospitals play in patient education. The study effectively identifies a significant gap in postpartum care at RSI Arafah Jambi, where many mothers lacked proper guidance on postpartum exercises essential for recovery, uterine involution, and complication prevention. The intervention, involving both verbal education and practical demonstrations, appears to be a direct and relevant response to this need. The reported immediate improvements in mothers' knowledge and skills, alongside their active participation and positive feedback, underscore the potential impact of such direct educational efforts in enhancing postpartum recovery outcomes. The project's strengths lie in its clear articulation of a common problem in maternal health and its practical, hands-on approach to a solution. The tailored delivery, accommodating mothers with limited mobility through verbal-only education, demonstrates thoughtful consideration for individual patient needs. The immediate positive outcomes, where most mothers were able to recall and perform exercises correctly, suggest the effectiveness of combining education with demonstration. Furthermore, the recommendation for continued integration into hospital health promotion programs emphasizes the initiative's perceived value and sustainability, indicating a strong potential for improving standard postpartum care practices. While the initiative presents compelling anecdotal evidence of its effectiveness, several areas could be strengthened for future research or broader application. The sample size of 16 mothers, though appropriate for a localized community service activity, limits the generalizability of the findings. The assessment method, primarily relying on "observations and discussions," lacks the rigor of standardized pre- and post-intervention evaluations, making it difficult to quantify the extent of knowledge and skill improvement. Future iterations would benefit from a more robust methodology, including a larger cohort, formal knowledge assessments, skill checklists, and perhaps a longer-term follow-up to evaluate adherence and sustained physical benefits. Implementing a comparative design or control group could also provide stronger evidence regarding the intervention's specific impact.

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