Figure 2-7. Cleaning the patient's perineum.
2-9.
NORMAL BIRTHING PROCESS (FIGURE 2-8)
Even though most of the time the delivery remains in the hands of the
obstetrician, there may be times when a practical nurse will have to assist the patient to
give birth. In general, the activity of the normal birthing process (see figure 2-8) is given
below:
a. Crowning, the appearance of the infant's head on the perineum.
b. Delivery of the head. This includes suctioning of the infants nose and mouth
with a bulb syringe. A DeLee suction trap is used if meconium is present.
c. Delivery of the anterior shoulder and the posterior shoulder.
d. Delivery of the trunk and lower body.
e. Clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord.
2-10. INFORMATION TO BE RECORDED ABOUT THE DELIVERY
Record the following information.
a. Exact date and time of delivery.
b. Sex of the infant.
c. Condition of the infant (APGAR) after birth. APGAR is the most widely used
method of evaluating the condition of a newborn baby. A value of 0 to 2 is given for
each observation (i.e., heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and
color). The values are added giving a total APGAR score (see table 2-2). A baby in
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