Pregnancy
Ectopic Pregnancies: Dr. Tanya Goodwin
The uterus has a fallopian tube attached to each side. At the end of each fallopian tube are delicate fingerlike projections called fimbriae. These fimbriae function to catch ova (eggs) released from the ovary and help transport the egg(s) down the tube and into the uterus. Sperm actually meet the ovum (egg) in the tube. The resulting early embryo is then wafted down to the uterus where implantation normally occurs. Tiny little hair-like structures inside the fallopian tube called cilia beat rhythmically, also moving the embryo along the tube. If the embryo gets stuck along the way then an ectopic/tubal pregnancy occurs. The embryo grows in the narrow tube until the tube can no longer accommodate it. The tube then ruptures, causing bleeding into the abdomen.
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An opened oviduct with an ectopic pregnancy at about 7 weeks gestational age. Wikipedia |

A Minor Detail: Heidi Creston
Handling the medical treatment of a minor can be tricky. Heidi Creston is back to discuss some of these special circumstances.
Welcome back, Heidi!
I work in L&D, and by far, dealing with family issues is more demanding of my time and energy than anything else. There is one issue that continually pops up and more and more I am finding it in the books I’ve been reading as well. I’m not an expert but I’d like to toss my two cents in for whatever it’s worth.
There are three primary condition that will emancipate a minor WITHOUT a court order:
1. Marriage
2. Joining the Armed Forces
3. Reaching the age of 18
Marriage or enlistment in military service by a minor brings about a new relationship of obligation and responsibility between the child and someone other than the parents. The severing of the child-parent relationship in this manner constitutes as an implied emancipation.
Substantiated reports of desertion, abandonment, non-support and other conduct of the parent may constitute reasonable circumstances for implied emancipation of a minor depending on the age and maturity level of the minor.
Pregnancy, in most states, does not constitute for implied emancipation. The pregnant minor is MEDICALLY emancipated, meaning they can make medical decisions for themselves and their baby only. The best option is to research the emancipation laws in the state that your are writing about because regulations vary from state to state.
Some states are pretty liberal with their emancipation procedures and a judge can sign off on it without a hearing if all parties involved are in agreement. So if you are planning some animosity within your story with those teenagers, take a quick peek at the laws first.
Marriage is another minor detail as well. Some states, like Wyoming, the legal age of marital consent is 19, not 18. So there is good reason said boy had to talk to girl’s dad first.
Jordyn here: I did a series as well on HIPAA issues that you might find interesting. Several aspects of this law are violated by authors frequently. Check these links for further information.
1. http://jordynredwood.blogspot.com/2011/12/author-beware-law-hipaa-part-13.html
2. http://jordynredwood.blogspot.com/2011/12/author-beware-law-hipaa-part-23.html
3. http://jordynredwood.blogspot.com/2011/12/author-beware-law-hipaa-33.html
**************************************************************************Adelheideh Creston lives in New York. She is former military and married military as well. Her grandmother was a WAVE and inspired her to become a nurse. Heidi spent some time as a certified nursing assistant, then an LPN, working in geriatrics, med surge, psych, telemetry and orthopedics. She’s been an RN several years with a specialty in labor and delivery and neonatology. Her experience has primarily been with military medicine, but she has also worked in the civilian sector.
Are Home Deliveries Safe?
I’m pleased to host Tanya Cunningham today as she discusses the safety of home deliveries. I think this is another one of those instances where some important information is not as prominent as what is portrayed by celebrities and others.
What do you think? Welcome, Tanya!
The birth of a new baby is a life changing, exciting event in the lives of the expecting mother and father to be. The number of decisions to be made are numerous and often overwhelming. One question many expecting parents ask is whether to give birth in a hospital setting or at home with the aid of a certified nurse midwife (CNM).
Medical Question: Flu and Pregnancy
My question has to do with one of my characters who gets a deadly form of influenza (swine and avian flu combined) early in her pregnancy. She winds up in the ICU. She survives but then discovers she’s pregnant. She worried about the baby.

Nurse Assisted Deliveries: Heidi Creston
The primary reasons for nurse assisted deliveries are:
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Physicians are over extended. They have more than one patient delivering at one time or are covering OR and/or ER as well as OB.
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They are not on site due to office hours.
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Precipitous Deliveries (baby comes quickly).
******************************************************************************Adelheideh Creston lives in New York. She is former military and married military as well. Her grandmother was a WAVE and inspired her to become a nurse. Heidi spent some time as a certified nursing assistant, then an LPN, working in geriatrics, med surge, psych, telemetry and orthopedics. She’s been an RN several years with a specialty in labor and delivery and neonatology. Her experience has primarily been with military medicine, but she has also worked in the civilian sector.
Assisted Reporduction is not for Whimps
Today, I’m pleased to host Bette Lamb who discusses her research into infertility clinics. I was certainly surprised by what she found. Are you?
Welcome, Bette!
Bette Golden Lamb is unmistakably from the Bronx – probably why she likes to write thrillers. When she isn’t writing crime novels, you can find her in her studio playing with clay. Her artistic creations appear in juried regional, national, and international exhibitions. She sells through galleries, associations, and stores. She’s also an RN, which explains, Bone Dry, a medical thriller, and Heir Today, an adventure/thriller which also has a medical aspect to it. And just released at Amazon .com, Sister in Silence, a medical thriller about barren women — available as an ebook or trade paperback. Both books were co-authored with husband J.J. Lamb. You can learn more about Bette here:
Medical Question: Suicidal Pregnant Patient
If she was unconscious when they found her, would they give her adrenaline or anything to wake her up, or just let her sleep it off? Would she be on oxygen or on an IV with some sort of drugs to counteract the sleeping drug? If her family visited her right afterward is there a chance she’d still be sleeping? Would she be in a regular ward or the ICU on the first day? Or would she be shipped right to a psych ward?
Actually, this has recently been reversed by the American Heart Association. Generally, there is a quick pulse check first. If no pulse… CPR is started right away. Then after a round of compressions, the patient is assessed for breathing. The components I mentioned above still apply.
Based on this assessment, the EMS crew would determine what interventions need to be done. There are two medications that can be given as reversal: Narcan and Flumazenil. These only work for opiates and benzodiazepines.
Any other thoughts for Lisa?
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Ways to Induce Labor According to the Old Wives
Have a pregnant character in your novel? What lengths might they go to to put themselves into labor? Would those methods actually work?
I’m pleased to host guest blogger Erin MacPherson today at Redwood’s Medical Edge to discuss those ever popular myths (and some truths) about how to get a woman to go into labor. Erin has a wicked sense of humor so this should not only be informational but give you a chuckle as well. She hosts the equally funny Christian Mama’s Guide.
If you’re interested, I’ve started doing a twice monthly guest post over at Erin’s blog giving “real life” girlfriend to girlfriend advice about pediatric issues. Ever wonder what a pediatric ER nurse thinks about things? This is the place to look. You can find my first post there that discusses if it’s truly a risk taking a less than two-month old out in public. http://www.christianmamasguide.com/2011/08/31/newborns-and-the-er/
Welcome, Erin! I think her non-fiction book would be a great gift for anyone expecting a little one.
Somewhere between 36 and 41 weeks of pregnancy, you might decide to take matters into your own hands and try to induce labor at home. I fully support this. Not because I think it will work—it probably won’t—but because the diversion of trying to induce labor at home will probably keep you from destroying the still-dirty baseboards in your nursery or wasting more gas on another trip to the hospital. Here are the old wives’ best labor-inducing tricks:
Medical Question: Drugging a Pregnant Woman
Heidi offers this perspective: It would be highly unusual for a doctor to get involved with a patient’s decision to return to an abusive relationship (or prevent it). The intervening party is usually the nurse. In the case you are describing, if the nurse was trying to keep a pregnant patient out of harm’s way, she/he could do many things but the standard is to get a good reactive strip, then give 2mg Stadol and 25 of Phenergan, this combo will generate a nonreactive strip (put both mom and baby to sleep), the doc cannot release the patient with a non-reassuring strip.
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