Premergency First Aid, CPR and AED Manual

9 Other Emergencies

Emergency Childbirth and Miscarriage Sometimes childbirth can occur early or too quickly for the mother to deliver as planned. Emergency childbirth can happen if the child is premature or if there is not enough time for the mother to get to a hospital. A miscarriage is the premature delivery of a fetus before it can survive. Typically this is before the 20th week of pregnancy. Most babies are born full term, but it is not uncommon for a baby to be born premature.

First Aider in Action: Part 5 You can rule out trauma, but you still do not know why the patient is unconscious. You loosen the patient’s shirt at the neck and undo his belt to help breathing and circulation before starting your secondary assessment. Taking the patient’s vital signs shows a pulse of 78 per minute and respirations of 14 per minute. You again speak to the patient, asking if he can hear you and telling him to ‘Wake up’ in a firm voice which causes him to stir slightly. You suspect a heat-related illness and consider moving the patient indoors. Just then a man runs up, saying he is a coworker of the patient and asking what happened. You quickly begin to question him for patient history. What questions can you ask the patient’s coworker?

• 0 – 20 weeks: Miscarriage • 21 – 36 weeks: Premature • 37 – 42 weeks: Full term

Knowledge of the female reproductive system during pregnancy will help you provide safe and effective first aid to the mother and child.

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