Curriculum of Obstetrics
TOPIC 34
ABNORMAL UTERINE ACTION
RATIONALE
Any abnormality in the contractile pattern of the uterine musculature that prevents the normal progress of labor is called abnormal uterine action, uterine dystocia, or desultory labor. This abnormal uterine action has deleterious effects on the mother, the process of labor, and the offspring.
GOAL
Evaluate uterine activity with stress on the diagnosis and treatment of the different types of abnormal uterine action
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
l Define abnormal uterine action
l Describe the different clinical varieties of abnormal uterine action including hypotonic and hypertonic inertia, precipitate labor, pathological retraction ring, and cervical dystocia.
l List the causes and risks of each type and method of treatment
l Describe the partograph and list its components and the types of curves obtained in normal and abnormal progress of labor
l Describe how to feel and count normal and abnormal uterine contractions
l State how to see and feel some elements of the partograph
CONTENT
l Physiology of uterine action
l The partograph
l Classification of the different types of abnormal uterine action
l Risk factors of abnormal uterine action
l Methods of assessment of uterine contractions
l Diagnosis and treatment of each type of abnormal uterine action
l Complications of abnormal uterine action
