Unit 7: Childbirth Flashcards
What are the different stages of labour for the foetus?
Engagement
Descent
Neck flexion
internal rotation
Crowning
Extension
External rotation and restitution
Delivery of the shoulders
Delivery of the baby.
What is the most common presentation/position of a baby during labour?
A cephalic longitudinal lie (head down towards mams pelvis.
What happens during engagement process of labour?
The largest diameter of the fetal head fits into the largest diameter of the maternal pelvis.
Aks baby faces laterally.
The foetal heads moves towards the pelvic brim to fit towards the pelvic inlet
What happens during descent process of labour?
The baby continues to face laterally and descends through the pelvic inlet towards the pelvic floor.
What causes the descent stage of labour?
Uterine contractions
Amniotic fluid pressure
Abdominal muscle contraction - voluntary by maternal effort
What happens during the flexion stage of labour?
The fetal heads comes into contact with the pelvic floor, cervical flexion occurs.
The foetal neck flexes so the chin is in contact with the chest, foetus presents as sub-occipito bregmatic
The foetal skull has a smaller diameter to pass through the pelvis.
What is the suboccipito bregmatic part of the baby skull?
From the centre of the anterior fontanelle (bregma) to the occipital protuberance.
Measures about 10cm
What happens during internal rotation stage of labour
The pelvic floor has a gutter shape, this causes the baby head to rotate from a right/left occopitotransverse position to an occipito-anterior position. 90 degrees rotation
What is crowning in the stages of labour?
Typically occurs after internal rotation stage of labour
When the baby head does not receed after contractions, instead the head remains visible.
Occurs when the mother is 10cm dilated
What happens during the extension stage of labour?
The baby head passess through the suprapubic arch
The causes the baby neck to extend>
The baby head stretches the perineum
What happens during external rotation and resitiution?
baby head rotates to face either one of the mothers medial thighs
The shoulder also rotate to align with the baby head
How is the head and body of the baby delivered in labour?
The midwife applies downward traction to baby head to deliver the naterior shoulder below the suprapubic arch
The midwife then applies upwards traction to the baby head to deliver the posterior shoulder.
The body then follows
What are the different fetal positions before birth?
Longitudinal cephalic (head down)*
Longitudinal breech (toes down)
right/left transverse
right/left oblique
What are the different longitudinal cephalic positions that the foetus may be in before labour?
Occipito anterior
right occipto anterior
right transverse occipital
right ocitpital posterior
occipital posterior
Left occipital posterior
Left ociptial transverse
Left oaccipital anterior
