Chapter 4: Birth

Question 0

Doula

Answer 0

A caregiver who provides continuous physical, emotional, and educational support to the mother before, during, and after childbirth.

Question 1

Afterbirth

Answer 1

The third stage of birth, when the placenta, umbilical cord, and other membranes are detached and expelled

Question 2

Analgesics

Answer 2

Drugs used to alleviate pain, such as tranquilizers, barbiturates, and narcotics.

Question 3

Anesthesia

Answer 3

Drugs used in late first stage labor and during expulsion of the baby to block sensation in an area of the body or to block consciousness.

Question 4

Oxytocin

Answer 4

A synthetic hormone that is used to stimulate contractions

Question 5

Natural childbirth

Answer 5

Developed in 1914, by English obstetrician grantley dickread; it attempts to reduce the mothers pain by decreasing her fear through education about childbirth and breathing ,ethos and relaxation techniques during delivery

Question 6

Prepared childbirth

Answer 6

Developed by French obstetrician Ferdinand Lamaze; this childbirth strategy is similar to natural childbirth but includes a special breathing technique to control pushing in the final stages of labor and also a more detailed anatomy and physiology course.

Question 7

Breech position

Answer 7

The baby’s position in the uterus that causes the butt to emerge from the vagina

Question 8

Cesarean delivery

Answer 8

Delivery in which the baby is removed from the mothers uterus through an incision made in her abdomen.

Question 9

Apgar scale

Answer 9

A widely used method to assess the health of newborns at one and five minutes after birth. The apgar scale evaluates infants’s heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, body color, and reflex irritability

Question 10

Brazelton neonatal behavioral assessment scale (nbas)

Answer 10

A test performed within 24 to 36 hours after birth to assess newborns’ neurological development, reflexes, and reactions to people

Question 11

Neonatal intensive care unit network neurobehavioral scale (nnns)

Answer 11

An “offspring” of the nbas, the nnnsprovides a more comprehensive analysis of the newborns behavior, neurological and stress responses, and regulatory capacities.

Question 12

Low birth weight infants

Answer 12

Babies that weigh less than 5 1/2 pounds at birth

Question 13

Preterm infants

Answer 13

Babies born three weeks or more before the pregnancy has reached its full term

Question 14

Small for date (small for gestational age) infants

Answer 14

Babies whose birth weight is below normal when the length of pregnancy is considered

Question 15

Kangaroo care

Answer 15

A way of holding a preterm infant so that there is skin-to-skin contact

Question 16

Postpartum period

Answer 16

The period after childbirth when the mother adjusts, both physically and psychologically, to the process of childbearing. This period lasts for about six weeks, or until her body has completed its adjustment and has returned to a near prepregnant stage

Question 17

Involution

Answer 17

The process by which the uterus returns to its prepregnant size

Question 18

Postpartum depression

Answer 18

Involves a major depressive episode characterized by strong feelings of sadness, anxiety, or despair in new mothers, making it difficult to carry out daily tasks

Question 19

Bonding

Answer 19

A close connection, especially a physical bond between parents and their newborn in the period shortly after birth.