The goal of this continuing education module is to update nurses’ knowledge about the etiology, assessment, management and nursing care of pregnant patients with chronic medical conditions. After studying the information presented here, you will be able to:
- Discuss current medical management and nursing implications of heart disease in pregnancy
- Explain the criteria for using insulin to manage diabetes during pregnancy
- Describe two potential complications that may occur in a pregnant woman with congenital heart disease
- Compare the effects of pregnancy-induced hypertension and diabetic nephropathy on the management of pregnancy, labor, and delivery
- Recognize the assessment findings in a patient with sickle-cell disease complicating pregnancy
- Describe at least one way in which thyroid disease complicates pregnancy
- Explain how autoimmune disorders complicate pregnancy
- Identify three goals of the antepartum management of clients with chronic medical conditions
