Lee High School

How might Obstetrics And Gynecology nurses benefit the lives of their patient from the

beginning to the end of patient care?

Nursing

Dasia Vaughn

Senior Capstone

J. Snyder

April 13, 2017

Dasia Vaughn

Jody Snyder
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Senior Capstone

April 13, 2017

*OB RN at your cervix *

An obstetrician is a doctor who specializes in pregnancy, childbirth, and a woman's

reproductive system (Labor & Delivery). Becoming an Obstetrician Gynecology has always

been one of my main goals, both as a child and in my early adult life. The moment when I saw

my mother deliver my little brother was when I knew I loved the job and this career was where I

was determined to be a part of in my future. Obstetrician and Gynecology nurses benefit the

lives of their patients from the beginning to the end of the patient care by guiding them

throughout pregnancy, labor, and puerperium period.

When a woman first figures out that shes pregnant, there are a few steps she has to take

during the pregnancy on a daily basis. First, when even thinking that a patient is pregnant, the

patient 90- should call and schedule a doctor's appointment just make sure that the pregnancy is

real. After figuring out that the client is pregnant, a once a month checkup for a prenatal visit. At

those visits, the patient will find out their due date, have ultrasounds, and get physical exams. An

Obstetrician/Gynecologist will try their best to figure out the due date by asking when the last

period started by adding seven days and counting back three months. When a woman attends her

first prenatal visit, the highlight of the appointment is hearing the baby's heartbeat. Hearing-

impaired women (and hearing-impaired fathers) can also appreciate this special moment When I

listen to the baby's heart (Malka). Hearing the baby's heartbeat will be able to let the patient

know if there is something wrong with the baby. Just like when a toddler or ever an adult goes to

the doctors, they always listen to the heart to make sure everything is okay, and thats the same

for a baby when its in a mother stomach. The obstetrician uses a special tool, which is a fetal
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doppler, to be able to hear a babys heartbeat. Another important occurrence at a woman's check

up appointment is the pregnancy ultrasound. The reason why pregnancy ultrasounds are

important is that, A pregnancy ultrasound is an imaging test that uses sound waves to create a

picture of how a baby is developing in the womb. It is also used to check the female pelvic

organs during pregnancy, (The New York Times ) which is saying when having an ultrasound

shows the developmental process of the baby when the baby is in a womans womb. That is how

a woman always knows how the baby is doing after going to the doctors. Having pelvic exams

shows if the women have a certain type of illness in one of her organs and also checks the

fallopian tube, which is the tube that carries eggs to the womb.

Labor, of course, plays a huge part in the pregnancy after going through so many elevated

hormones, morning sickness, and even depression. Understanding the signs of a womans body is

important to know if theyre in labor such as things like when a patient water breaks or having

strong contractions. Usually, when the patient water breaks, it either means its a premature

rupture of membranes or the patient really in labor. The way clients would be able to tell is when

the patient's experience wetness in the vagina, it would basically feel like the mother has gone to

the bathroom. If the patient is unsure about if the water has broken, the doctor should be able to

give the patient an exam to tell if the leaking amniotic fluid and this test would let the nurses and

doctors know the next step they should take. Another way a patient is able to know they're in

labor is by having a strong pain in the pelvis. Contractions move in a wave-like motion from the

top of the uterus to the bottom, (Pregnancy and signs) which means the contractions goes

through the patient's body and cause a huge pain and pressure in the virginia.This is why they

call this a contraction. According to the article called The relationship of socioeconomic status

to preterm contractions and preterm delivery, it says that one to ten percent of pregnant women
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is hospitalized for preterm labor. Basically that means the only time preterm labor comes is if the

mother goes into labor a little bit too early. By that it mean 20-37 weeks is preterm labor and

thats what causes many patients to go into the hospital. Now, every woman has a different type

of pain level, so not everyone thinks contractions feel the same. Some people would describe it

as cramps from a menstrual period, but some say it is like getting hit by a car three times, so it all

depends on how much pain tolerance ones body can take.

Women have a right to safe motherhood and Obstetricians have an indispensable role to play in

making it happen. They should take up the challenge (Mfathalla). Even though a pregnancy

might go well, not every labor goes as well as the patient's, nurses, and Obstetrician wants it to

go. A complication that might be likely to occur is when the baby is born too early. This is

because if the baby is born too soon, his or her lungs might not be able to function on its own

and the baby would have to be hooked up to machines to help with the breathing. Another

problem would be is when the mother may be in labor for too long, which means the baby had

failed to progress and would cause the mother and baby to be at high risk. Sometimes when

someone is in labor for too long and their water has not broken, the obstetricians would break

their water and this would cause the mother to possibly go into labor.

After giving birth to a child, it is very important that a women have a great recovery.

When the mother is finally out of labor, the mother will start her puerperium period. Puerperium

period is when the mother starts her period for about six weeks. The reason why its so long is

because a female goes about nine months without a period, so now the human body is playing

catch up. Many women, after having a baby, feel really sad, depressed, and fat. In an article that

was found, it talked about a doctor who was pretty hard on her patient only because she felt like

a lot of women after birth talk about losing weight but doesnt really stick to their words. She
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also says, "I'd better stay in shape, or all of my patients would revolt against me," she says. "I

give them such a hard time" ( Major Medical Voices). Basically she feels like if she doesnt work

out and stay in shape, her patients wouldnt even be able to look up to her. So many moms who

were pregnant and have no motivation usually looks up to her as a role model.

Aftering writing an essay on obstetrics and gynecology, a few ladies were interviewed on

how birth was for them. One of the ladies named Maria Baker stated that since she has a high

pain tolerance, the labor didnt hurt at all for her; she took all the contractions without the

medicine.. According to her, after labor was the best thing ever, something she said, Its just the

joyous moment knowing that something like that came out of you (Baker). Another person who

was interviewed was Coley Hankis-Betser and Coley was the opposite of Baker. Coley describes

her labor contraction as, intense period cramp times ten. She said that the pushing part was

fairly easy and fast but she had one issue and that was her baby came out not breathing so the

nurses had to give him oxygen.

Obstetrics and Gynecology nurses benefit lives of patients throughout the entire length of

of a pregnancy. Their experience and knowledge benefits women not only during delivery as

many might think but also during prenatal care and after the pregnancy. These nurses make sure

that women are comfortable and healthy during the pregnancy and help patients to understand

what will be happening at the different stages of the pregnancy.

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Works Cited

Fathalla, Mahmoud F. "The challenge to obstetricians." World Health, vol. 51, no. 1, 1998, p. 6.
Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CA54208296&asid=9dca298156ea9cd36d94bfc8cf1a0125. Accessed 13 Apr. 2017.

"Labor and Delivery." Women's Health Care Physicians . American Congress of Obstetricians

and Gynecologists, 2017. Web. 25 Mar. 2017.

<http://www.acog.org/Womens-Health/Labor-and-Delivery>.
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"Major medical voices: 'Don't just do what I say; do what I do.' Health-care professionals tell how
they take care of their bodies." Ebony, July 1991, p. 94+. Academic OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CA10933455&asid=4428c6f21d2ca8c2f4e6deac26a513f7. Accessed 13 Apr. 2017.

Baker, Maira. 2017. Interview

Hankis-Betser, Coley. 2017. Interview.

Messner, Malka. "'Hearing' the Heart Beat." Consultant, Oct. 2000, p. 2044. Academic OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CA67882598&asid=003dfa0a4e47991c4162f59ebb1fbcae. Accessed 12 Apr. 2017.

Miles, Karen. "Nausea during pregnancy." Mothering, Summer 1989, p. 66+. Academic OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CA7723427&asid=06e6a49460ebbfbde606667b96b9064f. Accessed 10 Apr. 2017.

Whitehead, Nedra S. "The relationship of socioeconomic status to preterm contractions and preterm
delivery." Maternal and Child Health Journal, vol. 16, no. 8, 2012, p. 1645+. Academic
OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE
%7CA347292825&asid=7cfc63a79e336534bb7b871219dd4c22. Accessed 13 Apr. 2017.
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