Obstetric Life Support Manual
Etiology, prevention, and treatment of maternal medical emergencies and cardiopulmonary arrest in pregnant and postpartum patients

This text is a comprehensive review in normal and abnormal pregnancy physiology, the most common etiologies of maternal medical emergencies, recognition of maternal deterioration and pending cardiopulmonary arrest, modifications to cardiopulmonary resuscitation in pregnant and postpartum patients, special procedures that can assist in diagnosing and treating maternal medical emergencies tailored to the setting (e.g., point-of-care ultrasound, resuscitative cesarean delivery, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation), treatment of trauma/stroke in pregnancy, and postpartum maternal medical emergencies. There are streamlined algorithms and cognitive aids designed to improve a team?s ability to successfully implement techniques unique to treating maternal medical emergencies and cardiac arrest.

• Offers a practical guide to treating complex and challenging maternal medical emergencies
• Equips the entire team responding to a maternal cardiac arrest with the current evidence-based approaches and techniques
• Presents a thorough review, detailed algorithms, and a consolidated discussion of the practical aspects of implementation

Obstetric life support course overview.

1. Background on maternal cardiac arrest. 2. Anatomic and physiologic adaptations of pregnancy. 3. Prevention of maternal cardiac arrest. 4. Common causes of maternal cardiac arrest. 5. Review of CPR modifications for pregnant patients in basic life support. 6. Review of cardiopulmonary resuscitation modifications for pregnant patients in advanced cardiac life support and advanced life support. 7. Special procedures in OBLS. 8. Traumatic maternal cardiac arrest. 9. Postpartum cardiac arrest. 10. Maternal stroke and acute cerebrovascular disease. 11. Post-arrest care. 12. Communication during MCA. 13. Putting it all together.

Appendix A. Abbreviations. Appendix B. OBLS mnemonics. Appendix C. Resources. Appendix D. American Heart Association opioid associated emergency algorithm for healthcare providers. Appendix E. Post-ROSC care checklist IH. Appendix F. Post-ROSC care checklist OH. Appendix G. Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis following troke. Appendix H. Megacode checklist OH basic. Appendix I. Megacode checklist OH advanced. Appendix J. Megacode checklist IH. Appendix K. Institutional preparedness. Appendix L. OBLS drug list.

Andrea Shields, MD, MS, is OBLS Principal Investigator, Associate Professor, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut

Jacqueline Vidosh, MD, is OBLS Co-Investigator; Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, San Antonio, Texas

Laurie Kavanagh, MPH, is OBLS Program Manager, Seattle, Washington

Peter Nielsen, MS, MSS, is OBLS Co-Investigator, Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Health Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas

Brook Thomson, MD, is OBLS Co-Investigator; Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas