(a) Labor and birth shall be managed and attended by a birth attendant. (b) The birth attendant shall be trained in the use of emergency equipment. (c) A center shall ensure that its birth attendants encourage a client to seek medical care if the birth attendant recognizes a sign or symptom of a complication to the client's childbirth. (d) Other clinical care provider(s) and/or a birth attendant, shall be physically present in the center whenever a client is in the center until the client is discharged. The clinical care provider shall be capable of performing the following minimum duties: (1) monitoring the fetal heartbeat; (2) monitoring the mother's blood pressure, pulse, and temperature; (3) performing adult and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if needed; (4) monitoring the newborn's heart rate, respiratory rate and body temperature; and (5) assessing the client's fundus and blood loss. (e) A birth attendant shall be physically present to conduct the delivery and be available during the acute postpartum period. (f) Interventions shall be limited to those required to accomplish a vaginal delivery. (g) No general, epidural, or subdural anesthetic agent shall be administered in a center. |