Fetal heart rate monitoring by telephone. I. Development of an integrated system in Cardiff

Summary. We report the development of a practical dedicated system for domiciliary fetal monitoring integrated in a scheme for its rational application. From experience of 1120 domiciliary recordings in 74 women (64 with high-risk pregnancies), we suggest that domiciliary monitoring applied within a structured clinical context should be as safe as monitoring in hospital.     

Nursing education and professional role acquisition. A longitudinal study of expectations and attitudes towards nurse role acquisition

This article deals with professional role acquisition in nurses and discusses results from three studies concerning expectations and attitudes towards this acquisition. The studies have been carried out in Sweden. The discussion comprises expressed expectations and attitudes of nurse students and registered nurses in relation to our theoretical perspectives presented in a former article. The theoretical perspectives concentrate on three aspects of social action: change-drama, interchange-ritual, and maintenance-routine. The results indicate that the professional nurse role is acquired according to a traditional pattern, in spite of changes in curriculum and goals of nursing education and health care. Changes made to develop and improve the conditions under which role acquisitions take place.     

A systematic review of medical diagnosis of Ogilvie's syndrome in childbearing

Objectiveto review all published papers examining medical diagnosis of Ogilvie's syndrome and pregnancy with a view to assessing the implications of the diagnosis and the condition itself for childbearing women, midwives and medical practitioners.Designsystematic review.Search strategyMEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane databases were searched from 1950 to 2006 inclusive. Papers were read by two independent researchers and selected if they informed the link between Ogilvie's syndrome and childbearing or were concerned with other aspects of maternal mortality.Findings23 papers fulfilled the selection criteria and were of a suitable standard. Inconsistencies in relation to the diagnosis of Ogilvie's syndrome were noted, and an increase in maternal deaths from this condition was reported up to 2002.Key conclusionsthis paper highlights the strengths and weaknesses of medical diagnosis, as exemplified by Ogilvie's syndrome. The scientific basis of diagnoses such as Ogilvie's syndrome may deserve attention. This diagnosis has been shown to be unstable, both in temporal and aetiological terms. The midwifery and nursing reaction to the abrupt appearance of this condition is, at best, unfortunate. The attribution of blame to midwifery practices is deserving of a more robust response.Implications for practicethere may be clinical implications of the diagnosis of Ogilvie's syndrome for other aspects of maternity (including any nursing) care. A particularly significant area is the widely recognised increase in the caesarean rate with which Ogilvie's syndrome has been closely linked.