MCPC - How to use this manual - Health Education To Villages

How to use the manual

A woman presenting with a life-threatening obstetric complication is in an emergency situation requiring immediate diagnosis and management. Therefore, the main text of the manual is arranged by symptom (e.g. vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy). Because this symptom-based approach is different than most medical texts which are arranged by disease, a list of diagnoses with the page number of the corresponding diagnosis table is provided.

The emphasis of the manual is on rapid assessment and decision making. The clinical action steps are based on clinical assessment with limited reliance on laboratory or other tests and most are possible in a variety of clinical settings (e.g. district hospital or health centre).

Section 1 outlines the clinical principles of managing complications in pregnancy and childbirth and begins with a table that the health care worker can use to rapidly assess the woman’s condition and initiate appropriate treatment. This section includes the general principles of emergency, general and operative care, including infection prevention, the use of blood and replacement fluids, antibiotics and anaesthesia and analgesia. A description of normal labour and childbirth, including use of the partograph and active management of the third stage, is included in this section in order to provide the health care worker the information needed to differentiate between the normal process and a complication. Guidance on the initial care of the normal newborn is also provided. Section 1 also includes information on providing emotional support to the woman and her family and outlines the linkage between the providers and their community.

Section 2 describes the symptoms by which women with complications of pregnancy and childbirth present. The symptoms reflect the major causes of mortality and morbidity. For each symptom there is a statement of general, initial management. Diagnosis tables then lead to identifying the diagnosis which is causing the symptom. Simplified management protocols for these specific diagnoses then follow. Where there are several choices of therapy, the most effective and inexpensive is chosen. Also in this section is information on management for immediate (within the first 24 hours) conditions or problems of the newborn.

Section 3 describes the procedures that may be necessary in the management of the condition. These procedures are not intended to be detailed “how-to” instructions but rather a summary of the main steps associated with each procedure. Because general operative care principles are summarized in Section 1, these are not repeated for each procedure, unless there is care required specific to the procedure (e.g. post-procedure care for ketamine anaesthesia). Clear guidance is provided on drugs and dosages, a wide variety of anaesthesia options (e.g. safe caesarean section under local anaesthesia) and safe, effective and lower cost techniques (e.g. single layer closure of the uterus).

Section 4 contains a list of essential drugs and an index. The index is organized so that it can be used in an emergency situation to find relevant material quickly. The most critical information including diagnosis, management and steps for a procedure are listed first in bold. Other relevant entries follow in alphabetical order. Only the pages containing critical or relevant information are included, rather than listing every page that contains the word or phrase.

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How to use the manual A woman presenting with a life-threatening obstetric complication is in an emergency situation requiring immediate diagnosis and management. Therefore, the main text of the manual is arranged by symptom (e.g. vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy). Because this symptom-based approach is different than most medical texts which are arranged by disease, a list of diagnoses with the page number of the corresponding diagnosis table is provided. The emphasis of the manual is on rapid assessment and decision making. The clinical action steps are based on clinical assessment with limited reliance on laboratory or other tests and most are possible in a variety of clinical settings (e.g. district hospital or health centre). Section 1 outlines the clinical principles of managing complications in pregnancy and childbirth and begins with a table that the health care worker can use to rapidly assess the woman’s condition and initiate appropriate treatment. This section includes the general principles of emergency, general and operative care, including infection prevention, the use of blood and replacement fluids, antibiotics and anaesthesia and analgesia. A description of normal labour and childbirth, including use of the partograph and active management of the third stage, is included in this section in order to provide the health care worker the information needed to differentiate between the normal process and a complication. Guidance on the initial care of the normal newborn is also provided. Section 1 also includes information on providing emotional support to the woman and her family and outlines the linkage between the providers and their community. Section 2 describes the symptoms by which women with complications of pregnancy and childbirth present. The symptoms reflect the major causes of mortality and morbidity. For each symptom there is a statement of general, initial management. Diagnosis tables then lead to identifying the diagnosis which is causing the symptom. Simplified management protocols for these specific diagnoses then follow. Where there are several choices of therapy, the most effective and inexpensive is chosen. Also in this section is information on management for immediate (within the first 24 hours) conditions or problems of the newborn. Section 3 describes the procedures that may be necessary in the management of the condition. These procedures are not intended to be detailed “how-to” instructions but rather a summary of the main steps associated with each procedure. Because general operative care principles are summarized in Section 1, these are not repeated for each procedure, unless there is care required specific to the procedure (e.g. post-procedure care for ketamine anaesthesia). Clear guidance is provided on drugs and dosages, a wide variety of anaesthesia options (e.g. safe caesarean section under local anaesthesia) and safe, effective and lower cost techniques (e.g. single layer closure of the uterus). Section 4 contains a list of essential drugs and an index. The index is organized so that it can be used in an emergency situation to find relevant material quickly. The most critical information including diagnosis, management and steps for a procedure are listed first in bold. Other relevant entries follow in alphabetical order. Only the pages containing critical or relevant information are included, rather than listing every page that contains the word or phrase. Top of page		Clinical principles Rapid initial assessment Talking with women and their families Emotional and psychological support Emergencies General care principles Clinical use of blood, blood products and replacement fluids Antibiotic therapy Anaesthesia and analgesia Operative care principles Normal Labour and childbirth Newborn care principles Provider and community linkages Symptoms Shock Vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy Vaginal bleeding in later pregnancy and labour Vaginal bleeding after childbirth Headache, blurred vision, convulsions or loss of consciousness, elevated blood pressure Unsatisfactory progress of Labour Malpositions and malpresentations Shoulder dystocia Labour with an overdistended uterus Labour with a scarred uterus Fetal distress in Labour Prolapsed cord Fever during pregnancy and labour Fever after childbirth Abdominal pain in early pregnancy Abdominal pain in later pregnancy and after childbirth Difficulty in breathing Loss of fetal movements Prelabour rupture of membranes Immediate newborn conditions or problems Procedures Paracervical block Pudendal block Local anaesthesia for caesaran section Spinal (subarachnoid) anaesthesia Ketamine External version Induction and augmentation of labour Vacuum extraction Forceps delivery Caesarean section Symphysontomy Craniotomy and craniocentesis Dilatation and curettage Manual vacuum aspiration Culdocentesis and colpotomy Episiotomy Manual removal of placenta Repair of cervical tears Repair of vaginal and perinetal tears Correcting uterine inversion Repair of ruptured uterus Uterine and utero-ovarian artery ligation Postpartum hysterectomy Salpingectomy for ectopic pregnancuy Appendix Essential drugs for managing complications in pregnancy and childbirth Index