Maternity emergencies 2: normal birth

Birth is a physiological process. However, when occurring unplanned prehospitally, it is a clinically significant event that is often unexpected and can be the cause of great anxiety. This is generally due to paramedics' lack of exposure and training in maternity in general, the fear of the unknown and the concerns about ‘what if something goes wrong?’ An understanding of the physiology and how birth processes work will assist with the decisions around transporting the woman in labour and how to manage a birth if it occurs rapidly and unexpectedly. This series on maternity care will highlight a range of maternity emergencies and detail the pathophysiology as well as their prehospital treatment and management.