Obstetric Life Support

The death of a woman during pregnancy is devastating. Although the incidence of maternal cardiac arrest is increasing, it continues to be a comparatively rare event. Obstetric healthcare providers may go through their entire career without participating in a maternal cardiac resuscitation. Concern has been raised that when an arrest does occur in the obstetric unit, providers who are trained in life support skills at 2-year intervals are ill equipped to provide the best possible care. The quality of resuscitation skills provided during cardiopulmonary arrest of inpatients often may be poor, and knowledge of critical steps to be followed during resuscitation may not be retained after life support training. The Obstetric Life Support (ObLS) training program is a method of obstetric nursing and medical staff training that is relevant, comprehensive, and cost-effective. It takes into consideration both the care needs of the obstetric patient and the adult learning needs of providers. The ObLS program brings obstetric nurses, obstetricians, and anesthesiologists together in multidisciplinary team training that is crucial to developing efficient emergency response.