Abstract
Introduction Childbirth is a major life event for women and their families. The few women who become critically ill during this time should receive the same standard of care for both their pregnancy-related and their critical care needs, delivered by professionals with the same level of competences, irrespective of whether these are provided in a maternity or general critical care setting [1]. This chapter will summarize standards and recommendations relevant to the care of the pregnant or recently pregnant critically ill woman for maternity and critical care. What is maternal critical care? The terms maternal critical care, high dependency care, and high-risk maternity care are not interchangeable, the term critical care having a more precise definition. In the UK, the Department of Health document Comprehensive Critical Care recommends that the terms “high dependency” and “intensive care” be replaced by the term “critical care” [2]. The document also proposes that the care required by an individual be independent of location, coining the phrase “critical care without walls.” In this schema, care is subdivided into four levels, dependent on organ support and the level of monitoring required independent of diagnosis.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Maternal Critical Care |
Subtitle of host publication | A Multidisciplinary Approach |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 16-25 |
Number of pages | 10 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781139088084 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781107018495 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2011 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Medicine