Question

Sue is a healthy 35-year-old G5 P5 who delivered an 8-pound, 6-ounce baby girl vaginally with an intact perineum. Her EBL was 500 mL. During the fourth stage of labor, her vital signs, fundus, and lochia were WNL. She is transferred to the mother-baby unit 3 hours after birth.

Questions:

1. What is the postpartum period?

2. What is the process of uterine involution after childbirth?

3. How is postpartum hemostasis achieved?

4. After report, the nurse goes in to assess Sue. Her vital signs are WNL, but her fundus is 2 cm above the umbilicus and displaced to the right. Her sanitary pad is completely saturated with lochia rubra. Is this an expected finding 3 hours after birth, explain your answer?

5. When Sue first gets out of the bed, she has a gush of blood. Is this a sign of hemorrhage, explain your answer?

Answer 1

1) postpartum period is the period immediately after childbirth where the mothers hormones and the uterus beings to return as into a non pregnant state.

2)process of uterine involution is the transformation of uterus from a pregnant state to non pregnant state .usually it last for 6-8 weeks post delivery.The size of the uterus decreases rapidly over the first 30 postpartum days .

The process begins during the third stage of labor, accelerates with expulsion of the placenta, and continues over the next 5 to 6 weeks.

3)The tonic contraction of uterus helps to the closure of uteroplacental arteries and it prevent the flow of blood to placental bed helps to maintain homeostasis after delivery.

4)it is normal and the shift of uterus to right is either due to presence of urine in the bladder.

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