Performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation<\/em> (CPR) in a real life scenario is already a nerve-wracking experience, but the stress is amplified when the victim in cardiac arrest is pregnant. So, is it safe to perform CPR on a pregnant victim? If so, what special precautions should be taken to ensure the victim is safe? To learn the answers to these questions and more, keep reading.<\/p>\n

The short answer is yes, it is<\/em> safe to perform CPR on a pregnant victim. The lives of hundreds of mothers and unborn children have been saved thanks to bystanders and medical professionals who performed CPR in emergency situations. With that said, the uterus may prevent chest compressions from actively pumping blood through the heart<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Depending on how far along the victim is in her pregnancy, you may need to push the victim’s uterus to her left so it’s no longer blocking the\u00a0inferior vena cava (usually gestation weeks of 20 or more). If the uterus is preventing you from making normal 2-inch deep chest compressions, gently move the uterus to the victim’s left. If this is not an option, the victim can be rolled 15-30 degrees. Your goal is to shift the victim’s uterus so it’s no longer blocking her inferior vena cava — the large vein that transports deoxygenated blood from the lower portion of the body to the right atrium of the heart.<\/p>\n

“The gravid uterus may be shifted away from the inferior vena cava and the aorta by placing the patient 15\u00b0 to 30\u00b0 back from the left lateral position (Class IIa) or by pulling the gravid uterus to the side.3 This may be accomplished manually or by placement of a rolled blanket or other object under the right hip and lumbar area. Other modifications are discussed below<\/em>,” wrote the American Heart Association<\/a> (AHA) in its 2005 guidelines regarding the use of CPR during pregnancy<\/p>\n

There’s also a slightly higher risk of regurgitation with pregnant cardiac arrest victims. This is due to the fact that pregnancy promotes higher levels of\u00a0estrogen and progesterone, which subsequently relaxes the stomach muscles. This relaxation combined the pressure of a growing fetus may cause pregnancy cardiac arrest victims to regurgitate or vomit.To make matters worse, the pH level of a pregnant woman’s stomach fluid is lower; therefore, any regurgitation\/vomiting is more damaging during pregnancy. When administering CPR to a pregnant victim, always treat her as if she has a “full stomach.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in a real life scenario is already a nerve-wracking experience, but the stress is amplified when the victim in cardiac arrest is pregnant. So, is it …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[149,146],"tags":[152,153,154],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceansidecpr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceansidecpr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceansidecpr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceansidecpr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceansidecpr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3716"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceansidecpr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4944,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceansidecpr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3716\/revisions\/4944"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceansidecpr.com\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceansidecpr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceansidecpr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceansidecpr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}