7800 Wolf Trail Cove, Germantown, TN 38138 • (901) 682-9222 • Open Weekdays 8:00 - 5:00
EMERGENCY BABY DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS
Ideally, you'll be at the hospital, under a physician's care, when baby decides to join the outside world, but you never know where you'll be, or what conditions you'll be in. These instructions provide the basic steps for delivery. Keep them handy, in the event of an emergency.
1) Try to remain calm. Remember, even if you don't know the first thing about delivering a baby, a mother's body and her baby can do most of the job on their own.
2) Call 911 (or your local emergency number) for the emergency medical squad; ask them to call your doctor or nurse-midwife.
3) The mother should start panting to keep from bearing down.
4) During all the preparations and during the delivery, comfort and reassure the mother.
5) If there's time, wash the vaginal area and your hands with detergent or soap and water.
6) If there's no time to get to a bed or table, place newspapers or clean towels or folded clothing under the buttocks, to provide some height for delivering the baby's shoulders.
7) If there is time, place the mother onto the bed (or desk or table) so that her buttocks are slightly hanging off, her hands under her thighs to keep them elevated. If available, a couple of chairs can support her feet. A few pillows or cushions under shoulders and head will help to raise her to a semi-sitting position, which can aid delivery. If you are awaiting emergency help and the head hasn't appeared, however, lying flat will slow delivery.
8) Protect delivery surfaces, if possible, with a plastic tablecloth, shower curtain, newspapers, towels, and so on. A dishpan or basin can be used to catch the amniotic fluid and blood.
9) As the top of the baby's head begins to appear, instruct the mother to pant or blow (not push), and apply very gentle counterpressure to the head to keep it from popping out suddenly. Let the head emerge gradually - NEVER pull it out. If there is a loop of umbilical cord around the baby's neck, hook a finger under it and gently work it over the baby's head.
10) When the head has been delivered, gently stroke the sides of the nose downward, the neck and under the chin upward, to help expel mucus and amniotic fluid from the nose and mouth.
11) Next take the head gently in two hands and press it very slightly downward (DO NOT pull), asking the mother to push at the same time, to deliver the front shoulder. As the upper arm appears, lift the head carefully, watching for the rear shoulder to deliver. Once the shoulders are free, the rest of the baby should slip out easily.
12) Quickly wrap the baby in blankets, towels, or anything else that is available (preferably something clean; something recently ironed is relatively sterile). Place the baby on the mother's abdomen, or if the cord is long enough (DO NOT tug at the cord), at her breast.
13) Do not try to pull the placenta out. But if it arrives on its own before the ambulance comes, wrap it in towels or newspaper, and keep it elevated above the level of the baby, if possible. There is no need to try to cut the cord.
14) Keep both mother and baby warm and comfortable until help arrives.
Thomas G. Stovall, M.D.
Dr. Stovall is a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee and Partner of Women's Health Specialists, Inc.
Date Published: 2004-03-23
7800 Wolf Trail Cove, Germantown, TN 38138
Phone: (901) 682-9222; Fax: (901) 682-9505