Pregnancy is a hypercoagulable state with an increased risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). All clotting factors increase during pregnancy, apart from factor XI and XIII. Stasis in the lower limb vessels also increases due to compression of the iliac veins by the gravid…

Postpartum fever is defined as: The most common cause of postpartum fever is endometritis. Postpartum fever occurs in approximately 5-7% of births

Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is defined as blood loss associated with signs and symptoms of hypovolemia, regardless of the mode of delivery. Historically, it was defined as: It is an obstetric emergency. A mother can rapidly exsanguinate from PPH since blood flow…

Post-partum Care ‘Postpartum’ is a general term for the period of time following childbirth. It starts one hour after the delivery of the placenta. The “postpartum” period can be divided into the following 4 stages: Common postpartum responses Postpartum response Description…

Pelvic Floor Fistula (Overview) Pelvic floor fistulas are abnormal connections between two epithelialized surfaces within the pelvis. There are mainly two types, rectrovaginal fistula (RVF) and vesicovaginal fistula (VVF). Surgery is the primary treatment for fistula. Despite successful closure of…

Overview Approximately 20% of labour involves dystocia. Labour abnormalities can be classified as disorders of protraction and disorders of arrest. .Remember that Labour is defined as regular contractions (every 5 minutes lasting ~ 30 secs.) accompanied by cervical dilation and…

Overview Induction of labour (IOL) is the planned initiation of labour prior to its spontaneous onset. Uterine contractions are initiated artificially leading to progressive dilation and effecement of the cervix and delivery of the fetus. Generally, IOL is performed when…

Overview Labor is a physiological sequence of regular painful uterine contractions that results in progressive effacement and dilation of the cervix and voluntary bearing-down efforts leading to delivery (expulsion per vagina of the products of conception). Cervical dilation w/o uterine…

Infectious disorders of Pregnancy

Overview 2 separate Blood Pressure (BP) readings >140/90 mmHg at least 4 hours apart are needed to diagnose hypertension. All pregnant patients with hypertension should get a urinalysis to look for proteinuria. No or trace proteinuria (<300 mg/dL) Proteinuria (≥…