Role of the Obstetric Nurse in the Family Health Strategy

Página 40

The performance of the obstetrician nurse in the Family Health Strategy (ESF) is a crucial part of the health system, as it involves assisting women throughout the pregnancy-puerperal cycle, from prenatal care to the puerperium, including delivery. This action is of paramount importance for the promotion of safe motherhood and for the reduction of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.

The obstetric nurse, as a member of the family health team, assumes a central role in women's health care, both in the context of health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and in care during the pregnancy-puerperal cycle. This professional is responsible for conducting prenatal consultations, providing guidance on warning signs during pregnancy, promoting educational activities, performing physical and obstetric examinations, requesting additional tests, prescribing medications, among other actions.

The prenatal care provided by the obstetric nurse in the ESF aims to ensure a healthy pregnancy and a safe delivery, contributing to the reduction of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. During prenatal consultations, the obstetric nurse performs the clinical and obstetric evaluation of the pregnant woman, requests and evaluates complementary tests, identifies risk factors and advises on the necessary care during pregnancy.

Another important performance of the obstetric nurse in the ESF is in childbirth care. The obstetric nurse has the legal competence to assist normal delivery without dystocia, that is, without complications. During delivery, this professional assesses the parturient, monitors the labor, performs the episiotomy when necessary, performs the delivery, performs basic neonatal resuscitation if necessary, performs immediate care for the newborn, performs the delivery, that is, the removal of the placenta, and sutures the episiotomy or perineal lacerations, when present.

After childbirth, the obstetrician nurse continues to assist women in the puerperium, the period that goes from the end of childbirth until the return of the maternal organism to pre-pregnancy conditions. During the puerperium, this professional performs the clinical and obstetric evaluation of the puerperal woman, provides guidance on care for the newborn, promotes breastfeeding, provides guidance on care for the healing of episiotomy or perineal lacerations, provides guidance on family planning, among other actions.

In addition to direct assistance to women, the obstetric nurse in the ESF also carries out health promotion, disease and injury prevention, health education, among others. These actions include holding groups of pregnant women, holding lectures and workshops on topics related to women's health, participating in vaccination campaigns, carrying out home visits, among others.

Therefore, the performance of the obstetrician nurse in the Family Health Strategy is fundamental for the promotion of safe motherhood and for the reduction of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. This professional, with his technical and humanized competence, contributes significantly to guaranteeing women's right to health and to improving the population's quality of life.

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41Role of the Obstetric Nurse in Neonatal Intensive Care Units