Obstetrics for Nurses

Getting the child into the world.

“…The social worker and the nurse may help largely in keeping up wholesome morale during pregnancy. Fortunately, also, there are available many fine pamphlets (8, 9, 55, 61, 62); books (7,15,31,47,71,80,86,91,92); and series of letters (51,73) for the expectant mother. Some of these are listed among the references at the end of this chapter.…”

“…The passage of the child tiirough the birth canal and into the world is spoken of as presentation. The usual way by which the child enters the world is for the top and back of the head to be delivered first, as illustrated in Figures 13,14,15,16. This is called vertex presentation.…”

“…This discussion was all more or less preparatory to the introduction of our main interest, the child. It is now time for us to consider the entrance of the child into the world (7,15,27,30,31,71,76,80,92). Although the social and hereditary aspects of birth differ enormously from one individual to another, the physical aspects do not differ so greatly.…”