Chapter 19 - Birth And Infant Development Flashcards
What is pregnancy known as?
Gestation
What is parturition?
The process by which the foetus is expelled from the mother’s body at the end of gestation
What is the first stage of labour?
Dilation of the cervix
What is the second stage of labour?
Expulsion
What is the third stage of labour?
Afterbirth
What is the birth canal?
The passage made up of the uterus, cervix and vagina that the foetus passes through
What marks the end of the first stage of labour?
The complete dilation of the cervix
What occurs in dilation of the cervix?
- waves of contractions travel from the upper part of the uterus down towards the cervix
- the cervix dilates so that the foetus is able to move more deeply into the pelvis
- the cervix fully dilates, and the uterus, cervix and vagina form a single curved passage known as the birth canal
What occurs in expulsion?
- the membrane surrounding the foetus bursts
- the foetus moves through the fully dilated cervix
- the head of the foetus stretched the vagina which stimulates the mother to contract her abdominal muscles
What occurs during afterbirth?
- the umbilical chorus is clamped, tied in two places and cute between the ties
- the baby is covered in a waxy material caller vernix
- the mother expels the Placenta, remains of the umbilical chord, amnion and chorion
What are some characteristics of a newborn baby?
- 50cm, 3.4kg
- reflexes govern the movements of newborn babies
What changes in the baby occur afterbirth?
- the ductus venous and ductus arteriosclerosis act as bypasses of the liver and lungs
- at birth these become non fucntional
What is puerperium?
The period in which the reproductive organs of the mother return to their normal state after childbirth.
