Normal post-partum period

Question 1

normal post-partum vital signs:

Temp during the 1st 4 hours?
BP?
HR?

Answer 1

• 100.4
• stable
• 50-70 is common for 6 to 10 days

Question 2

If you EVER see tachycardia on a post-partum patient, think___ first

Answer 2

hemorrhage first

Question 3

what happens to the breasts?

Answer 3

they’ll be soft for 2 to 3 days, and then the dreaded engorgement will take place

Question 4

what happens to the abdomen?

Answer 4

soft and loose (sometimes have diastasis recti)

Question 5

what is diastasis recti?

Answer 5

separation of abdominal muscles (makes your torso look wider)

Question 6

GI?

Answer 6

hunger because you don’t eat in labor

Question 7

uterus/ fundus immediately after birth?

uterus/ fundus a few hours after birth?

Answer 7

• • midline 2 to 3 finger breadths below the umbilicus

- rises to the level the umbilicus was or 1 finger breadths above.

Question 8

after we check for fundal firmness and massage it, what do we check for next?

Answer 8

bladder distention

Question 9

the term used when the fundus descends and the uterus returns to its pre-pregnancy size?

Answer 9

involution

Question 10

if the uterus is not involuting properly, what are we worried about?

Answer 10

hemorrhaging

Question 11

After birth pains are common in the first 2 to 3 days especially if the mom is __

Answer 11

breast feeding; because when she is breastfeeding, you get a surge of oxytocin which induces uterine contractions.