UTERINE ATONY

Course overview

UTERINE ATONY IS A PRINCIPAL CAUSE OF POSTPARTUM HEMORRHAGE, AN OBSTETRIC EMERGENCY. GLOBALLY, IT IS ONE OF THE TOP 5 CAUSES OF MATERNAL MORTALITY. UTERINE ATONY REFERS TO THE INADEQUATE CONTRACTION OF THE CORPUS UTERI MYOMETRIAL CELLS IN RESPONSE TO ENDOGENOUS OXYTOCIN RELEASE. POSTPARTUM HEMORRHAGE CAN OCCUR BECAUSE SPIRAL ARTERIES ARE UNIQUELY DEVOID OF MUSCULATURE AND DEPENDENT ON UTERINE CONTRACTIONS TO MECHANICALLY SQUEEZE THEM INTO HEMOSTASIS. AFTER DELIVERY, IN THE ABSENCE OF UTERINE CONTRACTION, SPIRAL ARTERIES MAY CONTINUE TO BLEED, RESULTING IN POSTPARTUM HEMORRHAGE. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OF UTERINE ATONY AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM MEMBERS IN COLLABORATING TO PROVIDE WELL-COORDINATED CARE AND ENHANCE OUTCOMES FOR AFFECTED PATIENTS.