👤 By the CinnaEMS Content Team🕐 Updated 2026-09-27🏷️ Patient Treatment & Transport🔖 Free to read, print, and share
Also known as: delivery · labor · APGAR · newborn · obstetrics
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Use this quick-reference guide to recognise, treat and hand over Childbirth & the Newborn on the NREMT and on the call. Keep it handy during review and on exam day!
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📒 The 1-minute cheat sheet
📌 Delivery
Nuchal cord → over the head
Dry, warm, stimulate
Clamp after 60 s (vigorous)
📌 Newborn
HR under 100 → ventilate
HR under 60 after 30 s PPV → 3:1
APGAR at 1 and 5 min
🚩 Complications
Prolapsed cord → hips up, lift the head off it
Limb → don't pull, go
Dizzy on her back → left side
📚 Childbirth & the Newborn — full study notes
The cheat sheet above is your quick recall card. These notes go deeper — what it is, what to do first, what changes the plan, and what to hand over.
A field delivery is usually normal, and the provider's job is to support it without pulling. The examinable content is the sequence of a normal birth, the newborn's first minute, and recognizing the complications that need immediate transport.
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Key points
Understand these first
Support the head, check for a nuchal cord, deliver the top shoulder then the bottom.
Dry, warm and stimulate. Clamp the cord after at least 60 seconds in a vigorous newborn.
Heart rate below 100 after drying → ventilate. Below 60 after 30 s of good ventilation → 3:1 compressions.
APGAR at 1 and 5 minutes: appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, respiration.
Never pull the cord to deliver the placenta; massage the fundus for heavy bleeding after it.
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Treatment priorities
What to do, in order
Prolapsed cord: hips up, lift the presenting part off the cord, keep it moist, transport.
Limb presentation: do not pull — position and transport immediately.
Late pregnancy and dizzy on her back: turn her to the left side.
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Red flags — report now
Escalate immediately
Headache, vision changes and swelling after 20 weeks (preeclampsia)
Painful rigid abdomen with bleeding (abruption)
Pain, missed period and shock (ectopic)
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Patient teaching
What patients must know
Previa bleeds painlessly and bright red; abruption hurts.
❓ Childbirth & the Newborn: NREMT FAQs
What are the priority actions for Childbirth & the Newborn in the field?
Prolapsed cord: hips up, lift the presenting part off the cord, keep it moist, transport. Limb presentation: do not pull — position and transport immediately. Late pregnancy and dizzy on her back: turn her to the left side.
What findings in Childbirth & the Newborn change your plan or your transport decision?
Headache, vision changes and swelling after 20 weeks (preeclampsia). Painful rigid abdomen with bleeding (abruption). Pain, missed period and shock (ectopic).
What do I need to know about Childbirth & the Newborn for the NREMT?
Support the head, check for a nuchal cord, deliver the top shoulder then the bottom. Dry, warm and stimulate. Clamp the cord after at least 60 seconds in a vigorous newborn. Heart rate below 100 after drying → ventilate. Below 60 after 30 s of good ventilation → 3:1 compressions. APGAR at 1 and 5 minutes: appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, respiration.
What should the crew communicate or document for Childbirth & the Newborn?
Previa bleeds painlessly and bright red; abruption hurts.
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Quick Tip
Support the head, check for a nuchal cord, deliver the top shoulder then the bottom.