Emergency Childbirth, United States. Office of Civil Defense [urban books to read .TXT] 📗
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Title: Emergency Childbirth
A Reference Guide for Students of the Medical Self-help
Training Course, Lesson No. 11
Author: U. S. Department of Defence
U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Release Date: October 14, 2008 [EBook #26923]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EMERGENCY CHILDBIRTH ***
Produced by David Reed and Al Haines.
THE MEDICAL SELF-HELP TRAINING COURSE
LESSON NO. 11
We wish to acknowledge with grateful appreciation the many services provided by the American Medical Association, through the Committee on Disaster Medical Care, Council on National Security, Board of Trustees and staff, in the preparation of this handbook.
From the inception of studies to determine emergency health techniques and procedures, the Association gave valuable assistance and support. The Committee on Disaster Medical Care of the Council on National Security, AMA, reviewed the material in its various stages of production, and made significant contributions to the content of the handbook.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of Civil Defense
and the
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
Public Health Service
Health Services and Mental Health Administration
Division of Emergency Health Services
5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20852
Reprinted December 1970
1. Let nature be your best helper. Childbirth is a very natural act.
2. At first signs of labor assign the best qualified person to remain with mother.
3. Be calm; reassure mother.
4. Place mother and attendant in the most protected place in the shelter.
5. Keep children and others away.
6. Have hands as clean as possible.
7. Keep hands away from birth canal.
8. See that baby breathes well.
9. Place baby face down across mother's abdomen.
10. Keep baby warm.
11. Wrap afterbirth with baby.
12. Keep baby with mother constantly.
13. Make mother as comfortable as possible.
14. Identify baby.
1. DO NOT hurry.
2. DO NOT pull on baby, let baby be born naturally.
3. DO NOT pull on cord, let the placenta (afterbirth) come naturally.
4. DO NOT cut and tie the cord until baby AND afterbirth have been delivered.
5. DO NOT give medication.
DO NOT HURRY—LET NATURE TAKE HER COURSE.
If it becomes necessary for families to take refuge in fallout shelters there will undoubtedly be a number of babies born under difficult conditions and without medical assistance.
Every expectant mother and the members of her family should do all they can to prepare for emergency births. They will need to know what to do and what to have ready. (See "Expectant Mother's Emergency Kit.")
A pregnant woman should be especially careful to protect herself from radiation exposure. She should have the most protected corner of the shelter and not be allowed to risk outside exposure. She should not lift heavy objects or push heavy furniture. If food shortages exist, she should be given some preference.
Fear and possible exertion involved during an atomic attack will probably increase the number of premature births and of miscarriages.
Usually there is plenty of time after the beginning of first labor pains to get ready for the delivery. Signs of labor are low backache, bloody-tinged mucous strings passing from the birth canal, or a gush of water from the birth canal.
The mother will need a clean surface to lie on. Her bed should be so arranged that the mattress is well protected by waterproof sheeting or pads made from several thicknesses of paper covered with cloth. Cover these protective materials with a regular bedsheet.
A warm bed should be made ready in advance for the baby. It may be a clothes basket, a box lined with a blanket, or a bureau drawer placed on firm chairs or on a table. If possible, warm the baby's blanket, shirt, and diapers with a hot water bottle. Warm bricks or a bag of table salt that has been heated can be used if a hot water bottle is not available.
A knife, a pair of scissors, or a razor should be thoroughly cleansed and sterilized in preparation for cutting the umbilical cord. If there is no way to boil water to sterilize them (the preferred method of sterilization), sterilize them by submersion in 70 percent isopropyl alcohol solution for at least 20 minutes or up to 3 hours, if possible. Sterile tapes for tying the umbilical cord will be needed. (Do not remove them from their sterile wrappings until you are ready to use them.) If no tapes are available, a clean shoestring or a strip of sheeting (folded into a narrow tie) can be boiled and used wet as a cord tie substitute.
Labor is the term used to describe the process of childbirth. It consists of the contractions of the wall of the womb (uterus) which force the baby and, later, the afterbirth (placenta) into the outside world. Labor is divided into three stages. Its duration varies greatly in different persons and under different circumstances.
During the first and longest stage, the small opening at the lower end of the womb gradually stretches until it is large enough to let the baby pass through. The contractions (tightening) of the uterus, which bring about this stretching and move the baby along into the birth canal, cause pains known as labor pains.
These pains, usually beginning as an aching sensation in the small of the back, turn in a short time into regularly recurring cramplike pains in the lower abdomen. By placing your hand on the mother's abdomen just above the navel, you can feel each tightening of the uterus as an increasing firmness or hardness. It lasts for 30 to 60 seconds. The pains disappear each time the uterus relaxes.
At first these pains occur from 10 to 20 minutes apart and are not very severe. They may even stop completely for a while and then start up again. The mother should rest when she is tired but need not be lying down continuously. She may sleep between tightenings if she can. She can take a little water or perhaps tea during the entire labor process. She should urinate frequently during labor so the bladder will be as empty as possible at the time of birth.
The skin in the vaginal area of the mother should be sponged occasionally with soapy water. Special attention should be given to cleaning the inner sides of the thighs and the rectal area with heavy lather. Soap or water should not be allowed to enter the vagina.
A slight, watery, bloodstained discharge from the vagina normally accompanies labor pains or occurs before the pains begin.
For first babies, this stage of labor may continue for as long as 18 hours or more. For women who have had a previous baby, it may last only 2 or 3 hours.
The end of this first stage is usually signaled by the sudden pressing of a large gush of water (a pint or so), caused by the normal breaking of the bag of waters which surrounds the baby in the mother's womb. For some women, the bag of waters breaks before labor begins or perhaps as the first sign of its beginning. This should not cause the mother or those helping her any concerns. It usually does not seriously affect the birth.
Through this first stage of labor, the mother does not have to work to help the baby be born. She should not try to push the baby down, but should try to relax her muscles. She can help do this by taking deep breaths with her mouth open during each tightening.
[Illustration: A. At full term, or after 40 weeks of pregnancy, the baby is ready to be born. The cervix through which baby must leave the uterus is shown clearly here, still closed. The contractions of the muscles of the uterus will open the cervix, and force the baby down through the vagina, or birth canal, to the outside.]
[Illustration: B. At the end of the first stage of labor the cervix is completely open and the baby's head is beginning to come down through the vagina. Contractions begin in the lower back and later are felt in the lower abdomen. At the time shown here contractions are probably coming every 2 minutes, lasting 40-60 seconds and very strong.]
[Illustration: C. The first stage of labor usually lasts several hours and is hard work. The mother needs to relax, rest, and be reassured. Give her water and fruit juices. In this picture the second stage of labor is well along. It is shorter than the first stage and the mother will now be pushing down with each contraction, helping to force the baby into the world. ]
[Illustration: D. The head of the baby has been partially born. This shows the usual position with the face down and the back of the head up. The bag of waters in which the baby is enclosed throughout the pregnancy may have broken at the beginning of labor, before or during the first stage. It may break now, or have to be torn with the fingers.]
[Illustration: E. Here you see the baby's head turned to the right as is usual. The shoulders are about to be born. The head must turn so that the baby's body can fit into the birth canal and come through more easily. After the birth of the baby there will be further uterine contractions and the placenta will be separated from the uterine wall and expelled.]
Gradually the time between the labour pains grows shorter and the pains increase in severity until they are coming every 2 to 3 minutes. It will not be long now before the baby is born.
At this stage the mother will notice a change. Instead of the tightness in the lower abdomen and pain across the back, she will feel a bearing down sensation almost as if she were having a bowel movement. This means the baby is moving down.
When this happens, she should lie down and get ready for the birth of the child. The tightening and bearing down feelings will come more frequently and be harder.
She will have an uncontrollable urge to push down, which she may do. But she should not work too hard at it because the baby will be brought down without her straining too hard. There will probably be more blood showing at this point.
The person attending the delivery should thoroughly scrub hands with soap and water. Never touch the vagina or put fingers inside for any reason. The mother also should keep her hands away from the vagina.
As soon as a bulge begins to appear in the vaginal area and part of the baby is visible, the mother should stop pushing down. She should try to breathe like a panting dog with her mouth open in order not to push the baby out too rapidly with consequent tearing of her tissue.
She should keep her knees up and legs separated so that the person helping her can get at the baby more easily.
The person helping the mother should always let the baby be born by itself. No attempt should be made to pull the baby out in any way.
Usually the baby's head appears first, the top of the head presenting and the face downward. Infrequently the baby will be born in a different position, sometimes buttocks first, occasionally foot or arm first. In these infrequent situations, patience without interference in the birth process is most important. The natural process of delivery, although sometimes slower, will give the child and the mother the best chance of a safe and successful birth.
The baby does not need to be born in
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