OB

Why is the uterus essential to a healthy pregnancy?

• Permits the excretion of waste from the baby to the mother

• Protects abdominal organs during fetal growth

• Manufactures specific blood cells needed for fetal immunity

• Powerfully contracts to force the fetus from the mother’s body

Which statement regarding the role and function of the cervix during pregnancy is true?

• “The cervix constricts near the time of delivery to prevent a premature birth.”

• “The cervix becomes plugged with mucus to prevent contamination of the uterus.”

• “The EMT can palpate the cervix to measure the contractions that the mother is having.”

• “The ‘bloody show’ comes from the cervix and confirms pregnancy in the first trimester.”

An EMT is presenting a continuing education class on the care of the pregnant female. When discussing the amniotic sac, he is correct to emphasize which of the following points?

• “It contains fluid and surrounds and protects the uterus.”

• “It contains a fluid called Wharton’s jelly that enables the baby to breathe and move.”

• “It must rupture during the second trimester of pregnancy for fetal development to progress.”

• “It protects and insulates the baby during pregnancy.”

You have been called to assist another crew with the birth of a baby. On scene another EMT informs you that the mother’s perineum tore and is bleeding heavily. You would:

• place a cold pack on the mother’s abdomen just below the umbilicus.

• apply a sterile gauze dressing with gentle pressure above the vagina.

• place a sterile dressing between the mother’s vagina and rectum.

• insert sterile gauze into the vagina and leave in place until bleeding stops.

Which of the following lists the stages of labor in the order in which they occur?

• Uterine, delivery, and recovery

• Dilation, expulsion, and placental

• Uterine, expulsion, placental, and recovery

• Dilation, delivery, placental, and afterbirth

The EMT should recognize a full-term pregnancy in which one of the following patients?

• 21-year-old who is 39 weeks pregnant and feeling dizzy

• 40-year-old beginning her third trimester but whose water just broke

• 25-year-old who is 220 days into pregnancy and complaining of back pain

• 33-year-old pregnant with twins in the eighth month of pregnancy

A patient is 7 cm dilated and complaining of painful contractions. What stage of labor should the EMT identify?

• First stage

• expulsion

• 3rd stage

• uterine

Which of the following statements best indicates that the patient is in the second stage of labor?

• “The contractions are beginning to hurt now.”

• “I think that my water just broke.”

• “I feel like I have to move my bowels.”

• “It feels good not to have to push anymore.”

Five minutes after delivering a baby, the mother feels the sudden urge to push and a gush of blood comes from the vagina. Given that the mother is not delivering twins, what stage of labor should the EMT recognize?

• Fourth

• Placental

• Second

• Expulsion

Prior to delivery, the EMT prepares to create a sterile field around the patient’s vaginal opening. This is best accomplished by:

• placing sheets from the OB kit over both the patient’s legs and her abdomen.

• using towels from the patient’s residence to wrap each leg and cover her abdomen.

• using a sheet from the patient’s bed to cover her abdomen and groin.

• placing a sheet from the OB kit under the patient’s hips and another over her abdomen and legs.