CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION
A partograph is a chart which includes the observation of maternal and fetal condition during labour, and it is used to monitor the progress of labour once the labour is established. When the woman has true signs of labour, the midwife initiates the use of the partograph to record her findings. An accurate record during labour provides the basis from which clinical improvements, progress or deterioration of the mother or fetus can be judged and managed as early as possible to prevent maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality (Myles, 2009).
The partograph was endorsed and modify by the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2000 in order to monitor the fetal and maternal wellbeing during the active stage of labour. Which also help midwives and the mother in achieving spontaneous vaginal delivery with low risk of both morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, accurate partograph recordkeeping enables an effective communication between healthcare professionals who manage women in labour, it is an effective clinical tool used during labour surveillance for early diagnosis of complications and the simple chart that, when used routinely for every birth, aids the monitoring of labour and provides early warning of the need for intervention so health workers can provide prompt and appropriate care (Singh, 2013).
Globally about 800 women die from pregnancy- or childbirth-related complications around the world every day.
A labor and delivery nurse is a nurse who cares for woman and newborns during antepartum, intraparetum, postpartum, and neonatal stages of birth. These nurses take vital signs to make sure the mother and her newborn are healthy. Labor and delivery nurses aren’t there for the medicine they are also there to provide support for the mother and the family. I would like to become a labor and delivery nurse because I love helping and taking care of others, especially when it comes to babies, I have always been interested in how the human reproduction systems works, and I love seeing others happy.
This essay demonstrates significant factors, a midwife and the women may face within Australian public hospitals. As a midwife the key skills are understanding of what supports and impacts the normal physiological process of labour and birth. This essay will discuss two influencing factors that have a negative effect on the normal progress of labour and birth. This will be seen, firstly by discussing the cultural and environmental impacts of labour and birth. Then, examining how the midwife may best support and facilitate the adverse effects of normal physiological process. This essay also discusses a positive labour and birth environment within the Australian standard model of care.
Giving birth to a baby is the most amazing and miraculous experiences for parents and their loved ones. Every woman’s birth story is different and full of joy. Furthermore, the process from the moment a woman knows that she’s pregnant to being in the delivering room is very critical to both her and the newborn baby. Prenatal care is extremely important and it can impact greatly the quality of life of the baby. In this paper, the topic of giving birth will be discussed thoroughly by describing the stories of two mothers who gave birth in different decades and see how their prenatal cares are different from each other with correlation of the advancement of modern medicine between four decades.
Providing an effective care and support to the patient and for their babies during labour
Once the patients arrive to the unit, if the person belongs to either scheduled induction or C-Section, they are provided with a delivery room. If the patient does not belong to previously mentioned categories, and about to deliver, she is moved to a delivery room. One final category is, where patients come in because they feel that they are about to be in labor or the patients that experience various pregnancy related complications. These patients are monitored by the nurse, seen by the physician and put under observation. If any of those observation patients are about to go into labor, they will be moved to delivery room. The rest of the patients will be treated and discharged. A quick registration will be done for all patients as soon as they enter the unit. Additional documentation for triaged patients will be done after they are moved to triage. For patients in labor or C-Section, it will be done earliest of patient’s
Childbirth is one of the greatest privileges on the earth anyone could have and we, as women, should feel proud to be major contributors for it. Thus, a mother has to play a key role in aiding the healthcare workers to mitigate the health crisis associated with childbirth by performing her duties faithfully. One such associated health crisis is “Premature (preterm) birth” which occurs when the baby is born too early, before 37 weeks of gestational period (CDC, 2015). The rate of preterm birth ranges from 5% to 18% of babies born across 184 countries (WHO, 2015).
The assignment will be written in the style of the British Journal of Midwifery (BJM), the abstract is incorporated into this introduction and Harvard 2014 will be used for the referencing style.
Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE) (2011) Saving mothers’ lives; reviewing maternal deaths to make motherhood safer: 2006-2008. BJOG 18(1): 1-203. London. Blackwell Synergy.
This is a bright orange book that the woman carries around with her and to every visit. The purpose of the PHR is to encourage communication and initiate continuity of care. Having access to the information of their pregnancy means women get more control and fell more fulfilled with the care they receive. (WILKINSON and MILLER, 2007) The records can be used as a reference source, to help women have a better understanding and to feel well informed, reassured, and confident in collaborating with health professionals as explanations were encouraged. (Phipps, 2001) The popularity of PHR is increasing, this could be due to growing attention on continuity of care and women centred care models. Which focuses on the woman compared to the “clinical condition” (pregnancy). (Humphrey, Tucker and de Labrusse, 2013) The PHRs are designed for the diversity of every woman, as every woman is different with varied needs (physical, emotional, cultural and religious). This method is also applicable for all types of care e.g. high risk, low risk, midwifery led care, shared care, or obstetric-led care. (Humphrey, Tucker and de Labrusse, 2013) On the other hand, the PHR can be lost easily, compromising
In 2013, 289 000 women died during pregnancy and childbirth and it was estimated that everyday 800 women all over the world died from childbirth or childbirth-related problems (World Health Organization, 2014). Often, maternal mortality is found to occur more often in developing countries than developed countries. Maternal mortality refers women who died from the situation like during pregnancy, termination of pregnancy within 42 days, regardless of duration and place of pregnancy, from aggravation caused by the pregnancy or pregnancy management (Nwagha et al, 2010). Maternal mortality may be resulted from direct or indirect cause. Direct causes are from obstetric complications of pregnancy, labour, and puerperium, and interventions whereas indirect causes are from the worsening of current conditions by pregnancy or delivery (Givewell, 2009). This paper aims to examine the causes for maternal mortality in both developed and developing countries and will end with a proposal for government to ensure women are given reproductive health rights.
The nurse must be mindful of each intervention initiated and the possible benefits of the intervention against its potential harmful effects for both mother and fetus. Not providing basic comfort measures for the mother can cause serious physical and emotional problems and could lead to possible fatigue and feelings of failure from the mother. The priority of this nursing intervention is to provide the mother and fetus with the least discomfort as possible and
Hands on or hands off the perineum: a survey of care of the perineum in labour (HOOPS) (Trochez, Waterfield and Freeman, 2011).
In many U.S. hospitals today the patient care that women receive during management of labor and delivery doesn’t look very evidenced based. Electronic fetal heart rate monitoring (EFM) is the most common form of intrapartal fetal assessment in the United States. We continue to see widespread use of EFM in low risk pregnancies. Electronic fetal monitoring is standard procedure despite numerous randomized controlled trials that have disproven its validity. It is routinely used, yet does not decrease neonatal morbidity or mortality compared to the use of intermittent auscultation. Intermittent auscultation of the fetal heart rate is an acceptable option for low-risk laboring women, yet it is underutilized in the hospital setting. Several expert organizations have proposed the use of intermittent auscultation as a means of promoting physiologic childbirth. So why do we use continuous EFM in the low risk pregnancy and what does the best evidence support and how can nurses apply the best available evidence to practice? As a patient advocate it is the nurses responsibility to answer these questions and provide the low-risk pregnant woman with current evidence about options for fetal heart rate assessment during labor.
This essay will first describe partnership and how a midwife working in the continuity of care model develops and maintains it. Secondly, this essay will describe what a postnatal abdominal palpation is, why it is done and what the outcomes may be. It will also describe the anatomy and physiology of a uterus and involution. Lastly, a description of how the assessment is conducted and how during this partnership and cultural safety is maintained by the midwife.
This woman was invited to the maternity assessment unit due to spontaneous rupture of membranes. This is her first birth in this country as her other 3 children were born in India- All normal vaginal deliveries. Although, her antenatal period had been low risk, she had not had a recent enough full blood count (FBC) taken, which would put her at risk of having a low Hb level and due to her parity – she could also be at risk of a postpartum hemorrhage (Royal college of obstetricians & gynaecologists, 2009). Therefore, the decision was made to put her on delivery suite rather than in the low risk birth centre.