Teamwork and Postpartum Hemorrhage
Graduation Date
1-2012
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Nursing
Department or Program Chair
Eira Klich-Heartt, RN, MSN
Thesis Advisor
Anita Hunter, RN
Abstract
The Women and Children’s Department isa maternity unit that provides service to three distinct but related patient care groups, the antepartum/intrapartum and postpartum woman and newborn. The unit also includes a neonatal intensive care unit and pediatric department. The focus on the unit is family centered care. Diagnosis for patients may include preterm, labor and delivery, term labor and delivery, preeclampsia, gestation hypertension and diabetes, placental abnormalities, asthma, multiple gestation and trauma. The department includes an operating and recovery area. A lactation service provides consultation, education and support to inpatients, outpatients and staff. The California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) is a statewide initiative with 31 hospitals participating including this one. The goal is to reduce the number of massive hemorrhages and resulting major complications by 75%, which includes Wood transfusions and hysterectomies. The second goal is to develop an multidisciplinary team response using protocols to every massive postpartum (California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, 2011). This project addresses die need for Perinatal units to develop team training to improve responses and recognition of postpartum hemorrhage. This will be done by identifying high risk patients on admission and during labor. Prevention of hemorrhage by using active management of the third stage of labor protocol is another part of the project. To recognize and also communicate hemorrhage by documenting quantitative blood loss, no estimating blood loss is a part of the project. The last step is to continue surveillance on postpartum to ensure patient safety and improve processes by debriefing after a postpartum hemorrhage.