Labor & Delivery Lab Skills (EXAM 1))

What does LOF mean?

loss of fluid

What does IOL mean?

induction of labor

What does SROM mean?

spontaneous rupture of membranes

What does AROM mean?

artificial rupture of membranes

What does PPROM mean?

preterm premature rupture of membranes

What does PROM mean?

prelabor rupture of membranes

What does Oligohydramnios mean?

a condition characterized by low amniotic fluid levels during pregnancy.

What does Polyhydramnios mean?

a condition characterized by excessive amniotic fluid levels during pregnancy.

What does VBAC mean?

vaginal birth after cesarean

What does NST mean?

nonstress test

What does version mean?

medical procedure to turn the features from breech/should position to vertex (head down) presentation 

What does post-term mean?

pregnancy that reaches 42 weeks of gestation or more and can be associated with placental insufficiency.

What does preterm mean?

any birth that occurs before the completion of 37 weeks of pregnancy and it’s regardless weight. 

What’s the difference between true labor and false labor in a patient?

 a true labor is when a patient has contractions that are at regular intervals, intervals are shortened between contractions, contractions have increased duration and intensity and cervical dilation and effacement occur. Whereas false labor in a patient has contractions that are irregular, no change in frequency of contractions, intensity does not increase with activity and there is no change in cervical dilation and effacement. 

What does dilation mean?

is the primary power and indicator if a patient is able to conduct a vaginal birth. 

What is effacement?

is the thinning, shortening, and drawing up of the cervix.

What is the fetal station?

is the presenting part of the pelvis, taken by imaginary line draw between the pregnant person’s ischial spines in the birth canal

What is the first stage of labor?

Stage 1 – the first stage is just seeing how much dilation there is to determine if a vaginal birth is happening or not. Latent phase is 0-6cm and active phase is 6-10cm. 

What is the second stage of labor?

the pushing stage once there is full dilation. The patient can be pushing anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours. Then after pushing the baby comes out

What is the third stage of labor?

• is when the placenta gets delivered after the birth of the baby.  

  

Why is it NOT recommended for a laboring patient to push until the cervix is fully dilated to 10 cm?  

It is not recommended for a laboring patient to push until cervix is 10cm is due to avoid cervical edema, unnecessary fatigue for the pregnant person, labor can be prolonged and it may also cause fetal distress. 

What are the 7 cardinal movements of labor? 

The seven cardinal movements of labor include engagement, descent, flexion, internal rotation, extension, external rotation, and expulsion.  

List three signs that you may observe when the placenta is going to deliver:  

1.The length of the umbilical cord  

2.Sudden amount of blood coming out of the vagina 

3.Any changes to the fundal shape and height 

What does the tocodynamometer measure and where is it placed? 

 It measures how often uterine contractions occur and an estimation of how lung a contraction lasts for. The tocodynamometer is placed externally over the fundus above the umbilicus.  

How do you assess the frequency of a contraction?

by counting from the beginning of a contraction to the beginning of another contraction 

How do you assess the duration of the contractions?

by measuring the time from the onset of a contraction to its end.

How do you assess the intensity of the contractions?

manually palpation of fundus

What is the purpose of uterine contractions during labor?  

 Uterine contractions during labor promote effacement and dilation of the cervix. They also help with pushing out the fetus through the birth canal.  

What does the fetal ultrasound transducer measure and where is it placed?  

It measures the fetal heart rate and it is placed over the PMI 

What is the normal range for the fetal heart rate?  

110-160 bpm 

What does variability mean in terms of fetal monitoring?

• the irregular waves in the baseline of the fetus’s heart rate. This usually occurs at two cycles per minute or more

What does early deceleration mean in terms of fetal monitoring?

it is a gradual decrease and return to baseline of a fetus’s heart rate that occurs at the same time as uterine contractions 

What does the late deceleration mean in terms of fetal monitoring?

gradual decrease in the fetus’s heart rate that happens after the onset of contraction 

What does acceleration mean in terms of fetal monitoring?

is an all of a sudden increase in the fetus’s heart rate above baseline 

What does the presence of accelerations indicate?

The presence of accelerations indicates that the infant is getting oxygen and that the fetus is at a normal acid-base balance. The presence of accelerations for an infant is normal and indicates that the fetus is doing good.