Women's health - Labour + delivery + postpartum Flashcards
(110 cards)
What are the stages of labour?
- First stage - until fully dilated (10cm)
- Second stage - full dilation until delivery
- Third stage - delivery of baby until delivery of placenta
What is stage 1 of labour divided into and what are the criteria (2)?
- Latent = 0-3/4 cm dilated
- Active(established labour) = 3/4-10 cm dilated
What are the 4 signs of the start of labour?
- Regular painful contractions
- Show (mucous plug from cervix)
- ROM
- Dilating + thinning (effacement) cervix
What is stage 2 of labour divided into?
- Passive stage - head descends down pelvis
- Active phase - mother bears down
How long should the first two stages of labour last in a primigravida women?
- Latent stage 1 = less than 20 hours
- Active stage 1(established labour) = 1 cm/hour
- 2nd stage = 2 hours
How long should the first two stages of labour last in a multigravida women?
- Latent stage 1 = less than 14 hours
- Active stage 1 (established labour) = 1.5 cm/hour
- 2nd stage = 1 hour
How long should 3rd stage last?
30 minutes
What is important to give to some mothers during labour (not to do with progression or pain management) (2)?
- IV benzylpenicillin (if GBS infection)
- Anti-D Ig
What are contractions in the 2nd/ 3rd trimesters that do not progress to labour known as?
Braxton-hicks contractions
What influences the progression of labour (3)?
Three Ps
* Power - uterine contractions
* Passenger - size, presentation
* Passage - shape + size of pelvis/ soft tissues
What are the seven stages of the mechanism of delivery?
- Descent - head moves down pelvis
- Flexion - chin to chest
- Internal rotation - to occipital-anterior position
- Extension - of head to push through vagina
- Restitution - occiput re-aligns with shoulders
- External rotation - shoulders rotate to anterior-posterior position (perpendicular to mothers)
- Delivery of shoulders - anterior shoulder delivered, then posterior
What is involved in an initial assessment of a woman in labour (4)?
- History
- Obs + urinalysis
- Abdominal palpation - lie, contractions, engagement, ect
- Vaginal exam
What is the standard monitoring performed during labour (5)?
- Foetal HB (every 15 min)
- Contractions (every 30 min)
- Maternal pulse + BP
- Vaginal exam (every 4 hours)
- Urine dip (every 4 hours)
What is recorded on a partogram (lots of things)?
- Progress - dilation, descent, contractions
- Foetal wellbeing - CTG, amniotic fluid colour
- Maternal wellbeing - pulse, BP, temp, urinalysis
What does CTG stand for?
Cardiotocography
What are some indications for CTG (3)?
- Unwell mother (tachycardia, sepsis, bleeding)
- Delay in labour
- Use of oxytocin
What is monitored on a CTG (2)?
- Foetal heartbeat
- Uterine contractions
What are 4 reassuring features of a CTG?
- Rate = 110-160
- Decelerations = absent
- Accelerations = present
- Baseline variability = 5-25 bpm
What is an acceleration/ deceleration on a CTG?
Increase/ decrease of 15 bpm for 15 seconds
What are the types of deceleration and what do they mean? (4)
- Early (heart rate drops in time with peak of contraction) = innocent finding associated with compression of foetal head
- Late (HR drops after peak of contraction) = foetal distress e.g. hypoxia
- Variable (<2 min) = transient umbilical cord compression
- **Prolonged ** (2-10 min) = compression of umbilical cord
What is the most common cause of reduced foetal HB variability (<5)?
Sleeping foetus
How can foetal distress be further investigated, after a CTG has been done, during labour?
Foetal scalp sample
can indicate hypoxia
What are some non-pharmacological options for pain relief during labour (3)?
- Birthing pool
- Relaxation techniques
- Aromotherapy
What are some medical options for pain relief during labour (4)?
- Paracetamol/ codeine
- Entonox (gas + air = 50/50 NO and O)
- IM opioids (e.g. diamorphine)
- Epidural