Labour & Birth Flashcards
Factors affecting labour: The 5 p’s
- Passenger (fetus and placenta)
- Passageway (birth canal)
- Powers (contractions)
- Position of mother
- Psychological response
What are the characteristics of PASSENGER?
Size of fetal head Fetal presentation Fetal lie Fetal attitude Fetal position
PASSAGEWAY, or birth canal, is composed of the following:
Bony pelvis Soft tissues of the cervix Pelvic floor Vagina Introitus (external opening to the vagina
Primary POWERS include:
-Strength, frequency, and duration of contractions -Effacement (0-100%) -Dilation (0-10cm) -Ferguson reflex -Secondary powers -Urge to push -Bearing-down efforts
What might interfere with the ability to push?
POSITION of labouring woman includes:
Position affects woman's anatomical and physiological adaptations to labour -Freq changes position *Relieve fatigue *Increase comfort *Improve circulation -Labouring woman should be encouraged to find positions most comfortable to her
PSYCHOLOGICAL response of mother includes:
-Excited, crying, groaning, vocal, non-vocal. -Prepared, breathing appropriately. -Not prepared, scared/frightened, out of control, tense. -Level of motivation.
Desrcibe the process of labour
Labour is the process of moving the fetus, placenta, and membranes out of the uterus and through the birth canal.
Various changes take place in the woman’s reproductive system in the days and weeks before labour begins.
Labour can be discussed in terms of mechanisms involved in the process and stages the woman moves through.
Signs preceding labour include?
- Lightening or dropping
- Bloody show
Onset of Labour include:
Onset of true labour cannot be ascribed to a single cause. Many factors are involved, including changes in the maternal uterus, cervix, and pituitary gland.
Stages of labour?
First stage
Second stage
Third stage
Fourth stage
Stages of Labour: 1st Stage - Latent stage (0-3cm)
Latent stage: (0-3cm) -Contractions -Strength: Mild/Moderate -Rhythm: irregular -Frequency: 5-30minutes -Duration: 30-45seconds -Decent: nullparous: 0 station, multiparous: -2 to 0 station -Show: Brownish; mucous plug, pale pink mucous; scant amount -Behaviour: excited, may be talkative or silent; calm or tense, alert, follows directions openly
Stages of Labour: 1st Stage - Active Stage (4-10cm)
Contractions Strength: Moderate to very strong Rhythm: Regular Frequency: 2-5 minutes apart Duration: 40-90seconds Decent: nullparous: varies: +1 to +3 station, multiparous: +1 to +3 station Show: pink to bloody show Behaviour: becomes more serious, difficulty following directions; express doubt about being able to continue, shaking tremors of thighs, pressure in anus
2nd Stage
Pushing and Birth-begins with full dilation and ends with the birth of the baby
30 mins-2hours
3rd Stage
Placenta Delivery
3 - 60 minutes
4th Stage
2 hours after birth
