Planning Workload After Having a Child

Nursing Case Study

Jane lives a very difficult life when it comes to the everyday implications that she has to deal with. Taking care of one child at a young age is difficult enough; taking care of six by the age of 26, seems to be nearly impossible. It is not surprising to hear that having six children that range from eight months old to nine years old, can become something that not only takes a toll on the soul, but also takes a toll on the physique and health. No matter how someone may seem to someone else, as is the case with Jane and her husband, if Jane does not feel comfortable with herself, and she does not see herself as being productive in society, or even in her own life, it can turn into a downfall situation in something that needs to be resolved at its source. In order to fully understand and comprehend the implications that Jane's lifestyle has on herself and her family, it needs to be analyzed through a variety of perspectives and a number of different considerations need to be taken.

Jane faces something that many people are now facing: a deep struggle with weight. The number of obesity trends have risen to beyond control, and in a case such as Jane's, this can become even more difficult, as she has many children to take care of, a husband who is not supporting her decision to want to lose weight, and a life that might not seem as great as she would have wanted it to be at that point. Her self-fulfilling prophecies, at least those that one would want as an individual have not been completely fulfilled. She lacks the home-skills necessary to do anything with her life beyond what she has already accomplished, and she cannot even keep up with the life that she is already leading. This can become overwhelming on someone her age, and adding the stress of the children, her husband, and her weight, adds an even more dangerous level to her health (Holub et al. 2011). Assessing this from various perspectives allows one to understand Jane's situation better and allows for Jane to have better choices when it comes to her weight struggle.

Sociological frameworks can be used to examine Jane's case. Weight loss is an unbelievable struggle that comes from years of unhealthy build up. She is very much under an unfortunate circumstance, not for the perspective of her life, but for her health. In order to be able to be not just a caretaker and mother to her children, she needs to also learn how to take care of her health so that she could also be a role model (Denehy 2008). One can see the main theory of application for her current life as coming from a feminist theory sociological perspective. Looking at the way her life has been thus far can be seen as a control mechanism from the husband so that she may do the things that he wants her to do. He has to work all the time, however, he still wants his big family and wants Jane to have even more children, although it is physically taking a toll on her health. This may be an agreement between the both of them, something that even Jane wants herself, but it is not something that is really being asked to her; the is an unequal balance of power between the two of them that adds even more onto what Jane is already dealing with (Rosenberg & Lissner 2008). If both of them equally want children and both of them equally want things to work out, then maybe the husband needs to contribute more to the family and Jane should also be allowed, by herself and her husband, to work outside of the home to get a break. This will allow for her to develop some very needed skills, and will allow her to contribute in some way to the family as well, so that the finances are equally divided. The stress that Jane has of not having enough money for anything can be resolved, while also tackling her weight and health issues through employment.

Taking the feminist perspective in sociological theories makes one look at this situation as one where the female is being held back by the constrictions that the husband and the children have placed on her, but that does not necessarily have to be the case. Structural functionalism may explain why Jane wants the life that she is leading, but however just wants things to change a bit so that she may feel a bit more happy with her own physique (Rosengren & Lissner 2008). Biologically, she is fulfilling the role that she was meant to fulfill on an evolutionary and societal level, and it is one that she is happy with, but the side effects that accompany having so many children in such a short amount of time, and with so many other things going on, makes this a battle that seems to be costing her health. Weight fluctuation is an issue that so many women go through, and despite how easy it may seem for a woman to just go and commit to her biological duties as a female to keep reproducing, it has daunting effects on physical, psychological, and emotional health (Heslehurst et al. 2011).

The sociological idea of phenomenology also contributes vastly to Jane's case. No one can really see things the way that she does. She is the person most in touch with her inner self, and in order for herself to find full recovery, she needs to be allowed to look at her life and contribute to it for her own sake. No matter how much the husband says that she looks beautiful the way she is, it won't matter if Jane doesn't see herself that way. Everything that Jane does and everything that Jane takes care of, will be affected by her inability to think positively about herself. If she doesn't see herself as being the person that she wants to be, she will not be able to be successful at the things that she sets out to accomplish, or in her case, may feel obligated to accomplish. She needs to feel the support from all those involved in order to fully come to appreciate the life that she is living (Vamos et al. 2010). Right now she feels that she has no applicable skills, nothing too great has been accomplished, and even though her husband and her want to have two more children, the way her health is going needs to be considered before more additions are made to the family.

Many sociological theories border on the line with philosophical implications of what should and should not be the case when it comes to Jane, but for more practicality to be added on, psychosocial implications need to be analyzed. The first concern here of course is for Jane's health. Despite everything else that is going on and everything else that she is considering in her life, nothing can be thoroughly done if Jane is not in a healthy state, both physically and psychologically (Vamos et al. 2010). This will indeed affect the way that she carries on her life. If she is not taken seriously by her husband that she wants to lose weight, then her whole family could be put at risk (Holub et al. 2011; Jordan-Welch & Harbaugh 2008). The effect that an unhealthy Jane has on society starts with her family. If she cannot learn how to manage her weight and learn to eat healthy in order for her lifestyle choices to change, then what will happen to her six children when they get older and realize that will also fall into the same lifestyle that their mother led. If they do not see at an early age that their mother was eating healthy and taking care of herself, then they will not learn that eating healthy is a choice and leading a healthier lifestyle will lead to living a longer life (Gruber & Halderman 2008). This one thing that Jane could take care of now before her weight gets to a level that cannot be controlled or to a level that will later have even more damage on her health, can and will be deadly choices for her children who will then continue that cycle on to their children. Looking and analyzing this case from a perspective of just considering the healthy lifestyle choices that can be made now at an early age to later avoid all the negative consequences that improper care could have on someone is worth it.

This has everything to do with health. No matter how good the relationship between the wife and the husband is, or how outstanding the relationship between the mother and the children is, Jane's issue is one of health and could unfortunately become one of life and death. As extreme as that may sound, it could be deadly to not take care of her high Body Mass Index. Not taking control of this now puts her at risk for illnesses and diseases that could actually be managed now before she keeps on having more children, and this is where the nursing perspective of this entire case comes in (Rowen 2009). In order for Jane to be properly taken care of, a good nursing relationship should be developed so that Jane may feel comfortable going on this very personal and lifesaving journey. Despite what the husband may say about the size of his wife, she needs to be able to lose weight in order to maintain a healthy disposition and one where she will be able to care for her children better and more efficiently.

It can become difficult to see this from outside of the medical perspective as it is almost a given that the first priority that should be given is to health, but so much more goes into this case. Nurses have the unique opportunity to be able to assist in the management of all of that. They are in a position where education as well as medical assistance could be given to an entire family (Brown et al. 2007). Jane has lead a pretty unique life in terms of how women gender and cultural roles have been playing out in today's society. It is difficult to now see a woman who wants to have that many children without regards to anything else, even her own well-being, but this is the case with Jane, and Jane does not really give the impression that she is depressed about her lifestyle. She just seems to be frustrated with the way that things may be playing out because she feels that it has not been in her best interest to continue with her lifestyle choices and have her health affected by it (Jordan-Welch & Harbaugh 2008). As a nurse, what needs to be considered is how a healthier lifestyle could fit into her already developed life. It is not just Jane that will be affected by any of this, but her entire family, her six children, and her husband, will also have implications about Jane's weight loss (Gruber & Halderman 2009).

Losing weight for Jane will not just be about herself and her body physique, but going on a specific diet to get her family going is also something of great importance. Nursing skills are great inserts at this point in her health management because it is one that constantly needs to be monitored for any sudden changes (Rowen 2009). Jane wants to be able to cook new recipes for her family, as she sees herself as lacking practical skills when it comes to the roles at home. There is so much that can be cooked without having to follow intricate directions, and this is something that could be taught to Jane so that she may be able to offer healthier and different food variations to her family. This in turn could potentially boost her self-esteem to a level where she will be more motivated to lead a healthier lifestyle if she feels she is being more productive in her family (Denehy 2008). Jane has also been concerned about the limited time that she has available to do anything worthwhile, at least when it comes to the kitchen. Being able to learn how to cook in a way that will allow her to make things quicker for more people could be greatly beneficial to her. Her financial concerns could also be reduced by leading a healthier living. Learning how to buy more fresh items can help with the budget that they are on. But at the end of everything, being able to supply her kids with healthier choices that do not entail sending her child to get quick fast food, will also help out her children's health (Vamos et al. 2010). Starting her children at an early age on a path to living a healthier lifestyle will indeed help them in the future so that they may not develop the same unhealthy habits that she had. Learning to manage one's weight is a process (Camden 2009). It is not something that is easy, and being able to know how to battle obesity before it even begins, will be the best thing possible for the health of all her current and future children.