(3) If the woman's answers and your observations indicate that she is in the
second stage of labor, prepare to assist in delivery. There is not enough time to get her
to a hospital.
(4)
The second stage of labor ends with the delivery of the baby.
c. Third Stage: Placental Stage. This stage of labor covers the time period
after delivery of the baby when the placenta (the afterbirth) is expelled. In this stage,
the uterus contracts, causing the placenta to be expelled. This process can take from
1 to 30 minutes. DO NOT pull the placenta out. It will deliver by itself. If you have
assisted in a delivery outside a hospital, transport the placenta to the hospital with the
mother and child. There the placenta should be examined along with the mother and
child. The contractions of the uterus (in expelling the placenta) help constrict blood
vessels torn in delivery, thus reducing the possibility of the mother hemorrhaging.
Section II. COMPLICATIONS OF PREGNANCY
2-5.
ABORTION
The termination of a pregnancy before the fetus is capable of living, thriving, and
growing (viable) is the definition of abortion. Loss of the fetus up to the 24th week of
gestation is medically termed abortion, more commonly called miscarriage. Delivery of
the fetus after the 24th week but before the full-term of the pregnancy is called
premature birth. An abortion can occur spontaneously or be induced. Look at these
types of spontaneous abortion.
a. Threatened Abortion.
(1)
Signs and symptoms.
(b)
Pain resembling menstrual cramps.
(c)
Sometimes softening and dilation of the cervix.
(2) Treatment. The primary treatment is bed rest. If the patient continues to
experience these signs and symptoms, the pregnancy may progress to complete
abortion.
b. Inevitable Abortion. An inevitable abortion is a spontaneous abortion that
cannot be prevented. The most common cause is an abnormally developed embryo or
fetus. Other causes are physical trauma or emotional shock to the pregnant female.
MD0584
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