Be ready for emergencies
Change bedding under the mother when it gets wet or soiled
Most women leak a lot of fluid from the vagina all through labor.
This fluid may be show (see page 150), or it may be broken waters.
When the mother lies down or sits, put clean cloths or pads
under her to catch the fluid.
Change cloths and pads when they get very wet or messy.
Check the fluid for too much fresh blood or blood clots (see
page 183), or brown, yellow, or green waters (see page 174).
If the mother has HIV
Giving ART medicines to the mother during labor and birth can prevent the baby
from becoming infected with HIV (see page 495).
Be ready for emergencies
Most pregnancies and births are healthy. Using the information in the following
chapters, you can prevent many problems. But any woman, no matter how healthy
she is, can have serious problems.
Midwives help prevent health problems in three ways:
1. Midwives watch for warning signs — symptoms that show a woman may be
developing a problem.
2. Midwives treat emergencies when they can.
3. Midwives transport women with serious warning signs or health problems
to a doctor or medical center.
Watch for warning signs
The following chapters on labor and birth list many warning signs. Most warning
signs tell you to watch closely and wait to see what happens. Some warning signs
may go away. Other signs are very serious.
If a woman has a very serious warning sign,
or if her warning signs do not go away, she
should get help right away.
You may know of warning signs that are
Something did
not seem right, so
I brought the
mother here to
the hospital.
I am glad
you did! She
has an
infection.
not in this book. Think about the health
problems that affect pregnant women in
your community. Do women usually have
signs before they get these problems?
Sometimes midwives do not see a sign that
something is wrong, but they just have a feeling
there might be a problem. If you have this feeling,
ask for help from other midwives, health workers, or
doctors. They may see the problem that you did not.
A Book for Midwives (2010)
163