Late Pregnancy and Postpartum Emergencies

Natasha Wheaton1, A Al-Abdullah1, Tyler Haertlein1

  • 1UCLA Ronald Reagan-Olive View Emergency Medicine Residency, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, 924 Westwood Boulevard, Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

The period just after delivery is a high-risk period for women with associated morbidity and even mortality. There are large variations in complication rates across various groups in the United States. This article covers complications commonly encountered in the emergency department in late pregnancy and the early postpartum period. It specifically addresses postpartum depression, peripartum cardiomyopathy, and the late pregnant or postpartum patient presenting with headache or neurologic complaints. Emergency physicians should be well versed in common and life-threatening postpartum pathologies.

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