Maternal and child nursing
Prenatal care, labour and postpartum, the newborn, breastfeeding, growth and vaccination with the PAI.
49 pages
Safe practice
- Abortion care in Colombia from the nursing side: rights and routes, care during and after, and post-abortion contraceptionIn Colombia, abortion care (IVE) is urgent care: the nurse informs, protects privacy, watches…
- Caesarean birth: preparing the woman, the newborn in theatre and postoperative careBefore a caesarean the nurse prepares the woman and theatre; after it she checks vital signs…
- Caring for the preterm and low-birth-weight newborn: developmental care, feeding, skin and painPreterm babies need warmth, their mother's milk, kangaroo contact, calm surroundings, pain…
- Contraception counselling: the methods, eligibility in general terms, LARC and after birth or abortionThe nurse explains every eligible method without leaving any out, helps the person choose freely…
- Diabetes in pregnancy: screening tests, glucose self-monitoring, education and the birthThe nurse makes sure the glucose test is done, teaches the woman to check and record her…
- Giving vaccines safely and Colombia's PAI scheduleBefore vaccinating, check the card and the true contraindications; then give it safely, observe…
- Induction and augmentation of labour: the oxytocin infusion and how to watch for tachysystoleOxytocin is a high-alert drug
- Kangaroo mother careKangaroo care places the preterm or low-birth-weight baby skin to skin on the mother's chest…
- Keeping the newborn warm: the warm chain, incubators and radiant warmers, hypothermia and overheatingNewborns lose heat fast
- Menopause: symptoms, self-care, bone and heart health, and what to teach about hormone therapyThe nurse asks about menopause symptoms, teaches self-care for sleep, bones and heart, and helps…
- Newborn hypoglycaemia: who is at risk, heel-prick glucose and early feedingBabies at risk of low blood sugar are fed early and often, kept warm, and have heel-prick checks…
- Newborn screening in Colombia: heel-prick metabolic tests, hearing, pulse oximetry and the red reflex (Ley 1980 de 2019)Every newborn in Colombia has the right to free metabolic, hearing, visual and heart screening…
- Obstetric emergencies: cord prolapse, shoulder dystocia and maternal collapse; what the nurse does firstIn a cord prolapse, shoulder dystocia or maternal collapse, the nurse first shouts for help…
- Pain relief in labour: support, non-drug methods and the nursing checks for neuraxial analgesiaEvery woman has the right to effective pain relief in labour
- Postpartum discharge: self-care, warning signs, contraception and the follow-up visitBefore going home, the woman learns the warning signs, how to care for herself and the baby…
- Postpartum haemorrhage: prevention in the third stage, estimating blood loss, fundal massage and Colombia's Código RojoPostpartum bleeding is a leading cause of maternal death
- Preconception care: risk review, family history, supplements, vaccines and planning a pregnancyBefore a planned pregnancy the nurse reviews risks, family history, habits, vaccines and tests…
- Preeclampsia and eclampsia: monitoring, magnesium sulphate checks, care during a seizure and warning signsIn preeclampsia the nurse measures blood pressure well, watches for signs of severity and…
- Prenatal education: nutrition and weight gain, common discomforts, healthy habits and the preparation course for birth and parenthoodThe nurse teaches the woman and her family to eat well, gain weight, move, ease common…
- Preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B and Chagas (ETMI-plus): tests, timing and follow-upThe nurse makes sure every pregnant woman is tested for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B, and…
- Screening in women's health: cervical cancer, breast cancer and the Res. 3280 scheduleIn Colombia, nurses screen women for cervical cancer by age and place of residence, examine the…
- Sexual violence: the nurse's role in Colombia's care protocol (first contact, urgency, prophylaxis and evidence)Sexual violence is a medical emergency: the nurse receives the person at once, protects her…
- STI counselling: risk reduction, testing, partner notification and condom teachingThe nurse takes a respectful sexual history, offers testing, teaches correct condom use and…
- The newborn at home: cord care, bathing, safe sleep, feeding cues and the warning signsBefore discharge the nurse teaches cord care, bathing, feeding, stools, sleep and the danger…
- Threatened preterm labour and ruptured membranes: assessment, the treatments to monitor and transferBefore 37 weeks, the nurse counts contractions, avoids vaginal exams if the waters broke…
Assessment
- Bleeding in pregnancy: early (miscarriage, ectopic, molar) and late (previa, abruption) from the nursing sideAny vaginal bleeding in pregnancy is treated as a possible emergency: the nurse assesses the…
- Fetal heart monitoring in labour: intermittent auscultation, CTG in general terms and intrauterine resuscitationIn a healthy labour the fetal heart is checked at set times with a Doppler or Pinard
- Growth and development monitoring in childrenAt each visit, weight, length or height and head circumference are measured, plotted on WHO…
- Infection after birth: endometritis, wound, breast and urinary infection; signs and nursing careFever after the first day postpartum needs a search for its source: uterus, wound, breasts…
- Neonatal sepsis: risk factors, early signs and nursing careNeonatal sepsis starts with vague signs
- Obstetric early warning scores in pregnancy and postpartum, and when to escalateThe obstetric warning score adds points for abnormal vital signs; the total tells the nurse how…
- Perinatal mental health: screening, baby blues, depression and psychosis, and when to callAbout 1 in 5 women has a mental health problem in pregnancy or the year after birth
- Prenatal risk assessment: obstetric and biopsychosocial risk, and when the nurse refersAt every prenatal visit the nurse looks for biological and psychosocial risk, reclassifies the…
- Respiratory distress in the newborn: signs, the Silverman–Andersen score and oxygen careThe nurse spots the signs of hard breathing, scores them, measures saturation and gives oxygen…
- The newborn examination: head to toe, normal findings, gestational age and weight classificationThe nurse measures the newborn, examines it head to toe, classifies it by gestational age and…
- The postpartum assessment: uterus, lochia, perineum, breasts, bladder, legs, mood and bondingAfter birth the nurse checks, in order, vital signs, the uterus, bleeding, perineum, breasts…
- The prenatal check: fundal height, Leopold manoeuvres, fetal heart, fetal movements and antenatal fetal testsAt each visit the nurse measures the uterus, finds the baby's position, listens to its heart…
Fundamental
- Breastfeeding support: latch, positions and common problemsWHO and UNICEF recommend starting in the first hour, exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months and…
- Labour and postpartum nursing: monitoring and warning signsIn labour, mother and fetus are monitored on the partograph; in the first 2 postpartum hours…
- Prenatal care: the nursing visit and warning signsPrenatal care starts before week 10, follows the pregnant woman month by month and teaches the…
- The four stages of labour from the nursing side: the partograph and the WHO Labour Care GuideLabour has four stages
Law
- Colombia's maternal–perinatal care route (Res. 3280 de 2018) from the nursing sideRes
- Ley 2244 de 2022: dignified, respected and humanised pregnancy, birth and postpartumLey 2244 de 2022 lists the rights of women in pregnancy, labour, birth, postpartum and pregnancy…
Procedure
- Expressing and storing breast milk, human milk banks, and safe formula preparation when it is neededThe nurse teaches hand expression, safe storage and thawing of breast milk, explains milk banks…
- Immediate care of the newbornDry, place skin to skin, clamp the cord without hurry, score the Apgar, identify, give the…
- Neonatal resuscitation from the nursing side: preparing, the golden minute and assistingMost newborns breathe alone
- Newborn jaundice: visual assessment, bilirubin checks and phototherapy careThe nurse looks for jaundice every day, has it measured when seen, and cares for the baby under…
- Taking a cervical cytology or HPV sample and assisting the pelvic examinationThe nurse prepares the woman, places the speculum, takes cells from the cervix for cytology or…
Calculation
A to Z
← Nursing: fundamentals and procedures
Educational content for students; it does not replace your institution's protocols, supervised clinical training or a prescriber's order. Dose-calculation examples use made-up numbers: they are educational, not a clinical order.
Representative model, for educational purposes only.