Intra-partum care + its complications Flashcards
What are the early preparatory phases of labour? (d-w before delivery)
- Uterine contractions without cervix dilatation - Braxton Hicks (usually shorter + less intense, in groin/lower abdo)
- Lightening + dropping feeling - head descends in pelvis
- Urinary frequency - bladder compression
- Less SOB - less pressure on diaphragm
- Bloody show - cervical mucus plug falls out as cervix starts to dilate
What happens in the first stage of labour?
Longest phase, shorter in multiparous women, is is from the onset of painful contractions with cervical changes up to full cervical dilatation
- Early latent phase - cervix effaces (thins), shortens and dilates up to 3cm
- Active phase - dilates up to 10cm (roughly 0.5cm/hr)
- Spontaneous rupture of membranes should occur at this point
What happens in the second stage of labour?
Lasts 2-3h, from full dilation to delivery of fetus
- Pelvic/passive phase without pushing
- Active phase - strong urge to push to help the uterine contractions deliver the fetus
- Baby goes through various movements to leave the birth canal
What happens in the third stage of labor?
Within 30 mins the placenta is delivered: uterus contracts to separate the placenta from the wall, contractions help push it + the fetal membranes out
What movements does the baby go through to exit the mother?
- Engagement: biparietal diameter of the head below the plane of the pelvic inlet
- Descent
- Flexion: chin to chest to make presenting part smaller
- Internal rotation as it reaches the pelvic floor
- Extension of head until delivered, crowning is where head is at the intraoitus and doesn’t go back in
- Expulsion: deliver the anterior shoulder, posterior shoulder then the rest comes out
What does labour depend on? (3Ps)
- Power - uterine contractions
- Passenger - lie, presentation, size, attitude
- Passage - pelvic shape, softening of ligaments
What are the clinical signs of labour?
- Regular painful contractions of increasing freq + duraion
- ROM (chorion + amnion)
- Bloody show (associated but not alone)
- Leopold manoeuvres (palpation of abdomen to establish fetal position)
- Cervix changes: effacement (0-100%, thinning shortening + drawing up of cervix), dilation (from 0-10cm)
How do you monitor the progress of labour?
- Rate of dilatation - VE on admission and every 3-4h in the first stage
- Descent - palpable portion of the head that is above the pelvic brim, in fifths. Engaged when no more than 1/5 is palpable abdominally + the vertex is at the level of the ischial spines
How do you monitor the fetus during labour?
- Partograms: a paper chart where you plot the FHR, cervical dilation, liquor, station, maternal HR/BP/temp. Its started at time 0 when they are admitted to labour ward
- Fetal heart rate: look at the bpm and the decelerations, every 15m in stage 1 and every 5m in stage 2
- CTG: done if high risk labour, continuously monitor the FHR and contractions
- Fetal ECG via the abdo/fetal scalp to see hypoxia
- Fetal blood sampling - acid base balance + lactate (if FHR abnormal)
What advice is given to women in the early stages of labour?
Empty bowels + bladder, shower
What methods of pain control are available for labour?
- Non-pharm: preparation, breathing + relaxation, TENS, water birth
- Pharm: nitrous oxide (50/50 mix, good for short term relief, inhale as contraction starts), narcotics (pethidine, morphine or remifentanil, risk of respiratory depression in neonate)
- Regional anaesthesia: epidural (can be done at any time, given into lumbar epidural space with local, spares motor fibres of the lower limb), spinal (for CS), pudendal nerve block (not really used nowadays), local for episiotomy repair
What are the complications of epidural anaesthetic?
- Reduces sensation so can reduce bearing down and lose ‘Ferguson reflex’
- Hypotension - so preload with Hartmann’s
- Dural puncture leading to CSF leak
- Post-dural headache
CI in infection, coagulopathy or hypovolaemia
In what circumstances would you monitor the fetus with CTG during labour?
Previous CS, PET, post-dates, prolonged ROM, IOL, DM, APH, IUGR, premature, oligohydramnios, abnormal Dopplers, multiple pregnancy, meconium-stained liquor, breech presentation
How do you interpret fetal heart rate?
- Normal rate 110-160 with some baseline variability
- Baseline variability reduces in sleep, infection and hypoxia
- Accelerations - abrupt increase >15bpm for >15s, a/w fetal movements, they’re normal
- Decelerations - reduction >15bpm for >15s, early decels are related to contractions and usually normal (head compression), late decels indicate placental insufficiency
What is preterm labour?
Labour from 24 to 36+6w, then there’s regular contractions + progressive cervical effacement + dilatation
What are the RF for preterm birth?
Low/high age, heavy work, smoking, drugs, APH, multiple pregnancy, uterine anomalies, cervical incompetence, PROM (often a/w infection), prev preterm, complicated pregnancies
How are preterm births managed?
- Prevention: Abx for bacteraemia, cervical cerclage (putting stitch in), reducing physical activity if at risk
- If >5cm + ROM have happened then allow labour progression
- If <5cm and membranes intact + <34w - give steroids + Adv bed rest
- If >34w usually deliver, gentle + controlled as skull is softer
- Tocolysis: drug management to suppress premature labour
What is PROM and PPROM and how do they present?
- PPROM-preterm PROM
- PROM - pre-labour ROM. Occurs at term, >4h between ROM and onset of contractions
- Occur because the membranes are weakened, by early activation of normal processes or infections. May lead to early labour (but may also not)
- CF: broken waters (painless pop then gush of fluid)/discharge changes/gradual fluid leakage, fluid pools in posterior fornix
- Don’t do DVE until in labour in case ROM hasn’t actually happened
Differentials for PROM
Incontinence, normal discharge, cervical discharge from infection, vesicovaginal fistula, loss of mucus plug
GBS is a common cause so take a HVS from all and sometimes sample the fluid to see if it is AF or not
How is PROM managed and what are the potential issues?
- Comps: chorioamnionitis (infection of membranes), oligohydramnios (causes lung hypoplasia if <24w), neonatal death from prematurity complications, abruption, cord prolapse
- Management: before 34w aim to increase gestation and give prophylactic Abx + steroids; 34-36w usually give steroids + IOL; >36w IOL if labour doesn’t start within 24-48h cos of infection risk
- If GBS is found give benpen or clarithromycin to mother during labour
- Avoid coitus + monitor for chorioamnionitis
Prolonged labour
Labor lasting >24h in a primip or >16h in a multip
- Inadequate progress indicated after >2h of active pushing in a primip or >1h in a multip
- If exceed this then need assisted delivery
Prolonged pregnancy
Pregnancy that lasts 42w or more
- RF: nulliparity, >40y, previous post-dates pregnancy, obesity, FH
- CF: oligohydramnios, static growth, reduced FM, meconium presence, dry/flaky skin as reduced vernix
- Comps: stillbirth, placental insufficiency, meconium aspiration, higher intervention risk in delivery, neonatal hypoglycaemia (as placental degradation depletes the glycogen)
- M: delivery before 42w is recommended by NICE + RCOG, encourage it with membrane sweeps, may need IOL, monitor fetus with CTG+US for amniotic fluid+distress, if signs of distress do EMCS
What are the indications for induction of labour?
- Prolonged pregnancy
- PET
- Placental insufficiency/IUGR - deliver before fetus compromised
- APH (usually abruption)
- Rhesus isoimmunisation
- Medical issues
- PROM
- IUD (if mother otherwise well)
- Bishop score <5
What are the contraindications to induction of labour?
- Absolute: cephalopelvic disproportion, major placenta praaevia, vasa praevia, cord prolapse, transverse lie, primary genital herpes
- Relative: breech presentation, triplets, 2+ previous low transverse CS
How is labour induced?
- Vaginal prostaglandin gel/pessary to ripen cervix
- Amniotomy - rupture membranes with amniohook which causes prostaglandin release
- Syntocinon infusion (artificial oxytocin) to increase strength + frequency of contractions
- Membrane sweep: an adjunct to help spontaneous IOL, aims to separate the chorionic membrane from the decidua for natural prostaglandin release
What monitoring is done for IOL?
- Bishop score: 7+ for IOL to work, if <4 unlikely but can try before CS
- CTG
What is the Bishop score?
Used to assess whether labour is likely to progress spontaneously (score >9) or not (score <5); need a score of 7 or more to indicate that IOL could work
Scores (what it should be for labour to progress): cervical position (anterior), cervical consistency (soft), cervical effacement (80%), cervical dilation (>5cm), fetal station (+1, +2)
What are the possible complications of IOL?
Failure, uterine hyperstimulation, cord prolapse (amniotomy), infection (pessary is best way to prevent), pain, higher risk of further intervention, uterine rupture (rare)
Management of spontaneous vaginal delivery?
- Short pushing spells with periods of panting to allow tissues to stretch
- With each contraction gently pull head downwards until anterior shoulder delivered, then pull anteriorly to deliver posterior shoulder + rest f baby
- 3rd stage active management with IM oxytocin, clamp + cut cord after 2mins, if signs of placental separation use controlled cord traction to deliver it
What is the Apgar score?
Assesses condition of neonate at 1 and 5 mins - looks at colour, tone, pulse, respiration and reflex irritability
Perineal injury
- 1st degree: vaginal + perineal skin, can leave if edges apposed
- 2nd degree: to posterior vaginal wall + perineal muscles. Episiotomy + suturing to minimise bleeding
- 3rd degree: involves anal sphincter. Repair under epidural/spinal/GA
- 4th degree: involves anorectal mucosa. As 3rd degree
RF for anal sphincter damage: macrosomia, 1st PV delivery, instrumental delivery, O-P position, prolonged 2nd stage, IOL, shoulder dystocia
What does malpresentation mean and what are the different forms?
That the baby is not in the normal vertex presentation (where head is flexed) so is harder to get through the birth canal
- Cord presentation: usually causes cord prolapse so deliver ASAP
- Face presentation
- Brow presentation: most unfavourable, need CS
- Breech: buttocks/feet first, at 28w 1/5 are breech but most revert by term. May be flexed (H+K flexed), extended (H flex, K extended-commonest) or footling (one/both hip extended so foot presenting part, rare but risky as cord prolapse higher chance)
- Oblique/transverse/unstable lie (e.g. transverse lie a/w cord prolapse and PROM) [longitudinal lie is normal]
- Malposition of head: usually occipitoanterior, malposition makes delivery harder