AWHONN postpartum discharge education: patient knowledge and sustainability.

Objective: The objective is to evaluate whether the implementation of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) postpartum discharge educational initiative is associated with improved patient knowledge of warning signs of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) and if the initiative is self-sustaining.

Design: A pre-post design was used to evaluate patient knowledge of warning signs of SMM (Plan-Do-Study-Act, PDSA cycle 1) and if the quality improvement initiative was self-sustaining (PDSA cycle 2). Patient understanding of warning signs of SMM prior to initiation of the AWHONN education (Usual Discharge) was compared with understanding of those who were discharged after implementation (POST-BIRTH discharge).