title: Triage issues in an out-of-hospital birth center.
abstract: Effective triage in an out-of-hospital birth center helps low-risk women avoid high-risk care. Background issues include the contributions of evidence-based practice, informed consent, patient education, problem-focused documentation, after-hours access to client data, and the value of intuition. Telephone triage, immediate referral, birth center management, and follow-up with counseling are outlined for common out-of-hospital triage problems: first trimester bleeding, nausea and vomiting, second and third trimester bleeding, urinary tract symptoms, decreased fetal movement, contractions < 37 weeks, rupture of membranes, contractions > or = 37 weeks, and "emergency" delivery.
authors.affiliation: Nativiti Women's Health and Birth Center, Houston, TX 77090, USA.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dossey
mesh_terms: D016550:Birthing Centers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009721:Nurse Midwives; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000451:nursing*; D019114:Remote Consultation; D012308:Risk Management / Q000379:methods*; D014218:Triage / Q000379:methods*