Precipitous Labor and Emergency Department Delivery

Joelle Borhart; Kathryn Voss

doi:10.1016/j.emc.2019.01.007

Precipitous Labor and Emergency Department Delivery

Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2019 May;37(2):265-276. doi: 10.1016/j.emc.2019.01.007.

Authors

Joelle Borhart¹, Kathryn Voss²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Emergency Medicine, MedStar Georgetown University, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, 3800 Reservoir Road, Washington, DC 20007, USA. Electronic address: joelle.borhart@gmail.com.
² Department of Emergency Medicine, MedStar Georgetown University, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, 3800 Reservoir Road, Washington, DC 20007, USA.

PMID: 30940371
DOI: 10.1016/j.emc.2019.01.007

Abstract

A precipitous delivery can be among the most stressful events an emergency physician encounters. The physician must assess 2 patients (mother and fetus) and be prepared to manage a variety of complications that may arise during delivery. A majority of precipitous deliveries result in good outcomes for both mother and baby, but emergency physicians must be prepared to manage feared complications, such as tight nuchal cords, shoulder dystocia, and breech presentation. An understanding of the labor process as well as advanced planning can help decrease the stress and chaos inherent to any precipitous delivery.

Keywords: Breech presentation; McRoberts maneuver; Nuchal cord; Precipitous delivery; Shoulder dystocia.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Breech Presentation / diagnosis
Breech Presentation / therapy
Delivery, Obstetric*
Dystocia / diagnosis
Dystocia / therapy
Emergency Service, Hospital*
Female
Humans
Obstetric Labor Complications / therapy
Pregnancy