Dissertation Creation - The UK's original provider of custom dissertations and dissertation help...

Free Dissertations - Physiology Dissertations

Other Commonly Used Medications Can Also Interfere With The Ability Of The ...



Other commonly used medications can also interfere with the ability of the myometrium to contract. The calcium antagonist group (e.g. nifedipine) are able to do this (Pittrof R et al. 1996) and therefore are changed for an alternative medication if their cardiovascular effects need to be maintained. (Khan R K et al. 1998)

We should also note that some anaesthetic agents can inhibit myometrium contractility. Although they are usually of rapid onset of action, and therefore rapid elimination from the body, they may still be clinically significant if given at the time of childbirth for some form of operative vaginal delivery. (Gülmezoglu A et al. 2003)

relevant legal and ethical issues related to topic and midwife,
Many of the legal and ethical issues in this area revolve around issues of consent, which we shall discuss in detail shortly, and competence.
Professional competence is an area which is difficult to define and is evolving as the status of the midwife, together with the technical expectations expected of her, increase with the advance of technology.

In general terms the areas of professional competence are defined in both legal and ethical terms. These two areas commonly overlap but they do differ in a number of ways.

The ethical duty of non-malificence is essentially an obligation not to do harm to the patient. The legal consideration of this point is rather broader insofar as the law requires that not only do you (as a midwife) have to ensure that you do no harm to the patient but that you also have a duty to ensure that no harm comes to the patient by other means. This essentially means that the healthcare professionals concerned must speak out if they are aware of the possibility of potential harm to the patient. (Halpern S D 2005)

In the context of this essay we could cite the hypothetical example of an obstetrician who was practicing passive management of the third stage of labour in direct conflict with the evidence base in the area. This would require a professional midwife to voice her concerns on the matter and she would be held legally liable if she simply acquiesced in silence. (Dimond. B. 2001). Another example (and supported by legal precedent would be the liability of a midwife who did not speak as the patient's advocate if the obstetrician was incapacitated by illness or (for example) alcohol. (Re C 1994)

In broad terms, the issues enshrined in the area of professional competence are encapsulated in the Bolam Principle. (Hunt T 1994). This states that a healthcare professional should not be held as negligent if he or she acts in accordance with the practice accepted at the time by a reasonable body of medical opinion.

Please note: The above dissertation snippet was written by a student and then submitted to us to display and help others. Thanks to all the students who have submitted their work to us.