Main description:

This succinct manual provides detailed clinical practice guidelines for the care of women in labour, this is designed to be a ready guide for use in the delivery suite by the busy clinician. The third edition has been updated to include new developments in clinical practice and governance and new guidelines. So far as is possible, the differences in care scenarios internationally have been addressed to provide a reliable guide to safe delivery.

Key Features

*Provides detailed clinical practice guidelines for the care of women in labour.
*Offers a ready guide for use in the delivery suite by the busy obstetric clinician and all members of the team.
*Focuses on the clinical relevance of the problem points arising.

Contents:

Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Glossary
Bleep/crash calls

PART I: Approach to care
1 The biopsychosocial approach to care of the woman in labour
2 Communication between care providers
3 Documentation
4 Admission to, and discharge home from, the delivery suite
5 Learning from clinical incidents
6 Transfer of care between professionals
7 Reviewing what happened
Further reading for Part I

PART II: Normal and low-risk labour
8 Vaginal examination
9 Intravenous cannulation
10 Management of normal labour
11 Prelabour rupture of membranes at term (37-42 weeks)
12 Management of the first stage of labour
13 Fetal monitoring
14 Fetal scalp blood sampling
15 Augmentation of labour
16 Cord-blood sampling
17 Epidural analgesia in labour
18 Management of the second stage of labour
19 Criteria for paediatric attendance at delivery
20 Management of the third stage of labour
21 Immediate postpartum care
22 Care of the newborn
23 Meconium-stained amniotic fluid
24 Neonatal resuscitation
25 Babies born before arrival at hospital
26 Episiotomy
27 The woman with a history of childhood sexual abuse
28 Use of birthing pool
Further reading for Part II

PART III: Abnormal and high-risk labour

SECTION 1: Powers, passenger, passage
29 Caesarean section
30 Recovery of obstetric patients
31 High-dependency care
32 Failed intubation drill
33 Instrumental delivery
34 Trial of vaginal delivery after a previous caesarean section
35 Induction of labour
36 Antenatal corticosteroid therapy
37 Preterm prelabour rupture of membranes
38 Preterm uterine contractions
39 Deliveries at the lower margin of viability
40 Multiple pregnancy
41 Abnormal lie in labour
42 Occipitoposterior position
43 Malpresentation
44 Breech presentation
45 External cephalic version
46 The woman with genital cutting
47 The obese woman in labour
48 Perineal tear

SECTION 2: Medical conditions
49 Heart disease in labour
50 Peripartum cardiomyopathy
51 Pre-eclampsia
52 Eclampsia
53 Diabetes mellitus
54 Asthma (acute exacerbation in labour)
55 Epilepsy
56 Systemic lupus erythematosus
57 Other connective tissue disorders

SECTION 3: Haemorrhage and haematological disorders
58 The rhesus-negative woman
59 Thromboembolism prophylaxis
60 Acute venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism
61 Major haemoglobinopathy
62 Inherited coagulation disorders: haemophilia and von Willebrand disease
63 Immune thrombocytopenic purpura
64 Thrombophilia
65 Gestational thrombocytopenia
66 Antepartum haemorrhage
67 Major placenta praevia
68 Placenta accreta spectrum
69 Retained placenta
70 Postpartum haemorrhage
71 Disseminated intravascular coagulopathy
72 Delivery of the woman at known risk of haemorrhage
73 Standards for administering blood transfusion
74 Management of the woman who declines blood transfusion
SECTION 4: Infection
75 Prophylactic antibiotics
76 Intrapartum sepsis
77 Hepatitis B and C
78 Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis for group B streptococci
79 Genital herpes
80 Human immunodeficiency virus
81 The woman with Covid-19

SECTION 5: Other obstetric emergencies
82 Paravaginal haematoma and Cervical tear
83 Rupture of the uterus
84 Shoulder dystocia
85 Cord prolapse
86 Anaphylaxis
87 Inverted uterus
88 Amniotic fluid embolism
89 Sudden maternal collapse
90 Latex allergy

SECTION 6: Stillbirths and congenital abnormalities
91 Checklist for fetal loss at 13-23 weeks
92 Intrauterine fetal demise
93 Mid-trimester medical termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality

Further reading for Part III
Appendix: Guidance for obtaining consent to treatment