A woman delivers and bleeds heavily. Her placenta has not been delivered after 45 minutes despite active management. What is the likely diagnosis and action?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Retained placenta
- Step 1: Active management should deliver the placenta within 30 minutes.
- Step 2: Retained placenta leads to haemorrhage and needs manual removal in theatre.
Answer
Retained placenta.
Why not the others: Normal third stage, to be observed for a further 24 hours without any intervention: The third stage is prolonged and observation risks haemorrhage. Uterine inversion: Antibiotics alone do not treat retention. Postnatal depression with somatic features, to be treated with sertraline: This is not a mood disorder.
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