Check the mother’s body
1 Fasten the cuff around the bare upper
arm.
2 Close the valve on the rubber bulb
by turning the screw to the right.
The screw will get shorter.
3 Feel for a pulse just below the cuff,
on the inside of the elbow.
Put the stethoscope
over the pulse
and put the ear
pieces in your
ears.
4 Pump the cuff up
by squeezing
the bulb.
5 As you pump, the
needle will move.
When it reaches 200,
stop pumping.
6 Then open the valve
just a little so that the
air leaks out slowly.
7 The needle will begin
to go back down. (If the
valve is closed, it will stay
at 200.)
8 As the air leaks out, you will start to hear
the mother’s pulse through your
stethoscope.
Notice where the needle or mercury is:
1. when you start to hear the pulse
(this will be the top number), and
2. when the pulse disappears or
gets very soft (this will be the
bottom number).
If you start
to hear a
pulse here
and then cannot
hear it anymore
when the
needle is here
then the blood pressure is: 100/ 60.
123
A Book for Midwives (2010)