Pregnancy, Childbirth, And The Newborn The Complete Guide

As stated by Penny Simkin, April Bolding, Ann Keppler, Janelle Durham, and Janet Whalley, the authors of the number one best-selling book, Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn: The Complete Guide, â€Å"While maternity care practices are continually changing the way women are helped to give birth, childbirth itself hasn’t changed. How a women’s body functions during pregnancy, labor, birth, and the postpartum period—and what she needs during these things—hasn’t changed since the beginning of humankind.† The process of birth is one of God’s greatest miracles. Although all babies go through the same stages of conception and development while in utero, that â€Å"average gestation period is 280 days, but it can be shorter or longer by as many as 14 days. At the end of the gestation period, the fetus has reached full term and is positioned for the birth process. The process, generally referred to as labor, includes three stages† ( Wittmer, Petersen, Puckett, 2013, pg. 103). However, not all babies are born through vaginal births and as technology has increased many doctors are beginning to see a trend of patients asking for elective C-sections for non-medical reasons for convenience and avoiding the pain of labor, as well as concerns about vaginal tearing, incontinence, or other complications. In my personal opinion, I believe that elective C-sections are unnecessary and should not be given as an option to the mother. Although many expectant mothers want to avoid the pain ofShow MoreRelatedThe Health And Delivery Nurses730 Words   |  3 Pagesof â€Å"bringing life into the world† meaning delivering babies. Labor and delivery nurses have the incredible opportunity to guide women and their families through one of the most transformative experiences of their lives – childbirth. Along with providing routine and emergency care to mothers, these nurses are often responsible for the initial stabil ization and care of the newborn immediately after birth. The term labor and delivery (LD) nurse does not even adequately describe the wide scope of thisRead MoreNursing Of The Childbearing Family Maternity1810 Words   |  8 Pagesnursing students. However, during the obstetrical clinical rotation I had the opportunity to visit different parts of the hospital such as LD and postpartum units. I was able to observe the nurse-patient interaction, a head to toe assessment of a newborn, and procedures such as administration of vitamin K, and performance of a heal stick on an infant. This clinical experience helped me to link the knowledge gained from the lectures with a real medical situation. The beauty of this clinical rotationRead MorePsychosocial Aspects of Midwifery3450 Words   |  14 Pagesaffect the woman’s health, pregnancy, outcome and their home lives. This is why the whole picture of a woman’s life should be respected in order to gain contextual knowledge. With the aid of a scenario true to real life practice, this essay will aim to: identify and analyse the psychosocial impact of the processes of childbirth upon women and their families; explore the social and political context of midwifery care; examine the changing role of women as a result of childbirth; discuss sociological explanationsRead MoreThe Nutritional And Health Status Of Women2263 Words   |  10 Pagespressure contribute to the poor health status of adolescents living in rural and urban slums. The nutritional and health status of women, both in adolescence and the pregnancy stage, as well as during pregnancy are important indicators of complications during pregnancy, childbirth and thereafter, as well as of peri-and neo-natal mortality and low weight. Although poor distribution of resources-whether due to harsh geographical or climate condition in a region, or due to poverty resulting from a lackRead MoreControversies in Childbirth Essay2181 Words   |  9 PagesContr oversies in Childbirth The United States still has one of the highest infant mortality rates as reported by CIA World Fact Book â€Å"United States 6.06 per 1,000† (Field Listing, 2008 p.1), as compared to other high income countries who employ midwives as mainstream for low-risk pregnant women. Research shows that midwife-attended births have fewer interventions, lower c-section rates, and offer more personal care for pregnant women. The problem with the current form of obstetrical care in theRead MoreAbortion Is A Highly Complex Issue Within Our Society Today1863 Words   |  8 Pagesfederally legal in the United States, it is a concern, which laces many elections and a substantial amount of legislation in every state. In fact, every state regulates abortion differently from the next. The reasons for choosing to terminate or bring a pregnancy to term are vast and multifaceted. Pro-life advocates support the abolition of abortion, while proponents of the pro-choice movement support a woman’ s right to choose. Because there are as many viewpoints as there are individuals, widespread supportRead MorePain Management For The Obstetric Patient2518 Words   |  11 Pages There are three stages of a pregnancy which start at conception and last until six weeks after the birth of the baby. The stages include antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum. Antepartum can be described as the period before childbirth, this would start at the time of conception until labor starts. Intrapartum is the labor stage of pregnancy. Intrapartum starts from the onset of labor until the delivery of the baby. Postpartum is the last stage of the pregnancy. This starts following the birthRead MoreTheu.s. National Library Of Medicine3035 Words   |  13 Pagesway. The current rate of cesarean birth is at 32.8%. This is a significant increase since 1996 when the rate was 20.9%. The World Health Organization stated in 1985 that â€Å"15% cesarean rate was ideal† and that this rate would hopefully â€Å"prevent childbirth injuries and deaths, but would help many women and babies avoid unnecessary surgery.† In 2009 they modified this statement. Now they state tha t the â€Å"optimum rate is unknown,† but very low or very high cesarean rates are dangerous. (Lake, 2012)Read MoreEssay about The Impact of Two Global Health Promotion Initiatives2942 Words   |  12 Pagesdefined in the Ottawa Charter as, â€Å"the process of enabling people to increase control over and to improve their health† (2). It provides people with sufficient means or channels to achieve and maintain their health, which refers to, â€Å"A state of complete physical, social and mental wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity†(3). The achievement of this state has been one of the major global challenges of the 21st century, especially in developing countries. The term developingRead MoreThe Impact Of Clinical Decision Support On Obstetrical Outcomes2793 Words   |  12 Pagesal., 2015) Prior European studies have indicated that 60-70% of maternal deaths are related to substandard care and up to 55% were preventable. It is assumed that these estimates would apply to care in the United States as well. (Chescheir, 2015) Childbirth complications across the United States vary widely from hospital to hospital. Glance, et al reported on rates of major complications (composite outcome) across the country and risk of complication in a low preforming hospital was doubled for vaginal