Nurse Key

Introduction ‘Undisturbed birth… is the balance and involvement of an exquisitely complex and finely tuned orchestra of hormones’ (Buckley, 2004a). The most exciting activity of a midwife is assisting a…

Introduction Pre-eclampsia is a condition peculiar to pregnancy, characterised by raised blood pressure (BP) and proteinuria. It can be associated with seizures (eclampsia) and multi-organ failure in the mother, while…

Introduction A small but significant proportion of women develop complications which may threaten their lives or those of their babies. Emergency situations can be very disturbing and provoke a range…

ical intervention. All factors for each individual woman, including her wishes, should be taken into account. Sometimes slow progress is more serious and indicates a significant problem. Usually with the…

Introduction Haemorrhage may be defined as blood loss sufficient to cause haemodynamic instability (American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), 2004). Heavy bleeding in the antenatal, intrapartum or immediate post-delivery period…

Introduction Vaginal examinations (VEs) are a common intervention performed during labour with the primary intent of assessing cervical dilatation as well as offering other information. While many clinicians challenge their…

Introduction Induction of labour (IOL), although a common procedure, can present challenges for both mothers and clinicians (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), 2001). Once women have passed…

Introduction Midwives must be able to resuscitate both the newborn baby and the mother, and therefore they should receive annual neonatal and maternal resuscitation training. This training should also cover…

Introduction Breech presentation is where the lie of the baby is longitudinal and the baby’s buttocks are in the lower segment of the mother’s uterus. Following the term breech trial…

Introduction Some women readily choose caesarean section (CS); some are reluctantly persuaded to undergo CS, and some have CS thrust suddenly upon them with, realistically, little chance to make any…