MDWF 2020

MDWF 2020: Prentatal Care II

Credits 3.5

COURSE PURPOSE & OVERVIEW:

This course is designed to give a student the basic knowledge and skills needed to provide competent prenatal care as a direct entry midwife.

SPECIFIC LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the completion of this course, the student will be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills in the following areas:

1. Develop or identify documents that will be used in the student’s personal practice.
2. Describe the benefits and risks of available birth settings.
3. Identify clients that are good candidates for direct-entry midwifery care at the initial interview, and assess throughout the prenatal period for complications that necessitate collaboration or referral.
4. Understand the components of a comprehensive health and obstetric, gynecologic and reproductive health history.
5. Describe the role of evidence-based care in prenatal care.
6. Identify pregnancy through recognition of signs and symptoms, history-taking, physical assessments, and laboratory testing.
7. Perform a routine prenatal care exam, including gestational assessment, abdominal assessment, fetal growth assessment, monitoring of the fetal heart rate, fetal well-being assessment, pelvic examination, and clinical pelvimetry.
8. Perform ongoing history at each prenatal visit.
9. Describe components of the physical examination that evaluate potential for a healthy pregnancy.
10. Describe physiological and emotional changes in pregnancy.
11. Understand the midwifery standards of care and guidelines in regard to prenatal care.
12. Have a basic understanding of common complaints and complications of pregnancy and non-pharmacological remedies for those complaints.
13. Describe the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards that apply to midwifery care during the prenatal period, including specific infection prevention and control strategies.
14. Demonstrate facilitation of the informed decision making process and provision of individualized care, counseling, collaboration and referral as indicated, evident throughout all documents.
15. Identify pre-existing factors and factors that develop any time during the childbearing cycle that make out-of-hospital birth an unsafe option.
16. Provide health education to pregnant clients and families about normal pregnancy progression, warning signs and symptoms, and when and how to contact the midwife.
17. Provide routine education specific to pregnancy, including: appropriate hygiene in pregnancy, considerations for work inside and outside the home, components of preparation of the home/family for the newborn, and common techniques to physically prepare for labor.

Example of practice directive document (practice guideline, informed consent or client handout)

• Nutrition Intake Form