NORMAL LABOUR

NORMAL LABOUR



Lecture guide notes

,Course objectives
By the end of the unit the student should be able to:
 Define normal labour

 Diagnose normal labour

 Perform vaginal examination using a dummy

 Identify the stages of normal labour

 Describe the process of normal labour

 Describe the physiological changes which occur in normal
labour
 Describe the management of a woman in normal labour

 Describe the physiologic adjustments of the newborn

 Describe the care of a newborn

,CHANGES IN IN LAST FEW WEEKS OF
PREGNANCY
 Mood swings are common and a surge of energy may
be experienced.
 Lower uterine segment expands and allows the fetal
head to sink lower and engage in the pelvis particularly
in the first time mothers (2 to 3 weeks)
 The fundus of the uterus descends
 Engagement takes place.
 Walking may become more difficult for some women
at the end of pregnancy
 Increase in pressure within the pelvis

, Definitions
LABOUR
 The process by which the fetus, placenta and
membranes are expelled from the uterus through the
birth canal after 24 weeks of gestation

Normal labour
 The process by which the fetus is born spontaneously
at term, presents with the vertex, is born with maternal
unaided effort and the duration does not exceed 18
hours and there is no complication to the mother and
the baby after delivery.