Critical Care Obstetrics part 5 provides expert clinical guidance throughout on how you can maximize the chances of your patient and her baby surviving trauma. In this stimulating text, internationally recognized experts guide you through the most challenging situations you as an obstetrician are likely to face, enabling you to skillfully:Recognize conditions early-on which might prove life threatening, Implement immediate life-saving treatments in emergency situations, Maximize the survival prospects of both the mother and her fetus | Critical Care Obstetric Nursing Interpretation of these data indicates a normal baseline FHR presence of accelerations and absence of FHR decelerations. In addition decreased uterine contraction frequency was noted and uterine resting tone by palpation was normal. Collectively these subsequent maternal and fetal assessment findings were considered reassuring. Strategies to prepare nurses to care for critically i ll obstetric patients When creating a program to care for critically ill obstetric women careful attention should be paid to the identification of nursing competencies necessary to create a safe practice environment. The theoretical basis for this enhanced level of practice should be presented in a consistent and organized fashion. Thorough discussion of content to be included would cover maternal physiology and common pathophysiology of pregnancy complications that are common in the critically ill obstetric population. However didactic material should be accompanied by the opportunity for nurses to gain clinical practice in a mentored supervised setting to verify competency of skills. The subject of critical care obstetric staff is addressed in Chapter 2 of this text. Additional resources are available in the literature to address this subject. References 1 Clark SL Phelan JP Cotton DB eds. Critical Care Obstetrics. Medical Economics Books Oradell New Jersey 1987. 2 Hankins GDV. Foreword. In Harvey CJ ed. Critical Care Obstetrical Nursing. Gaithersburg Maryland Aspen Publishers Inc. 1991. 3 Fedorka P. Defining the standard of care. In AWHONN s Liability Issues in Perinatal Nursing. Philadelphia Lippincott 1997. 4 American Nurses Association. Standards of Clinical Nursing Practice. Washington DC 1991. 5 Association of Women s Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. Standards for Professional Nursing Practice in the Care of Women and Newborns 6th edn. Washington DC 2003. 6 Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Comprehensive .
