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Vacuum Causes Subgaleal Hemorrhage During Delivery Essay examples

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Observed Intervention
Vacuum assisted deliveries are a method to help facilitate a vaginal birth even if the mother is becoming to exhausted to push or if the baby has reached a difficult position during labor and is prevented from progressing. While the vacuum may be helpful for the labor it runs the risk of causing a subgaleal hemorrhage (SHG) in newborns this condition is a result of the connection between the sinuses of the scalp and the veins of the brain have been ruptured which causes bleeding and swelling of the head and can lead to severe hypovolemia and death (Davis, 2001). SGH occurrences after vacuum delivery are in the range of 26 to 45 per 1000 vaginal deliveries (Modanlou, 2010). In order to treat and correct SGH nurses are …show more content…

The newborn assessment should include respiration rate, capillary refill, pulses, pallor and circulation checks. Signs of a hemorrhage may present themselves prior to scalp edema and could lead to treating a hemorrhage quicker and more successfully than if treatment is prolonged until the scalp starts to swell (Modanlou, 2010).
Conclusion
Monitoring the head circumference after a vacuum assisted delivery is a crucial part in detection of subgaleal hemorrhages. While performing newborn assessments and doing the ordered head measuring assessing the infant’s circulation, through capillary refill and pulses, palpating the head for any “bogginess”, and assessing and monitoring any edema along the suture lines of the infant’s skull are also crucial for early detection of SGH (Modanlou, 2010). It is also if there is a suspicion or confusion on if the feeling of the infant’s head is a hemorrhage or some other anomaly, acting fast is key in prevent further damage and working towards treated the SGH. Measuring the head circumference is an effective, nonintrusive and noninvasive way to detect the start, or possibly a prolonged, sugaleal hemorrhage following a vacuum assisted vaginal delivery if the assessment is taking place hourly for at least 8 hours following delivery (Modanlou, 2010).
While head measuring of a newborn may not be the most effective method of detecting a hemorrhage, it is an important piece to an assessment, and it is important the physicians, CNAs

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