Final answer:
To assess if a woman in labor can be transported to a hospital, questions about previous childbirth, contraction frequency, and amniotic sac status are asked. Pitocin is administered to induce or augment labor when contractions are insufficient and dilation is minimal, as seen in the case of Janine, who is at 41 weeks with infrequent mild contractions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Assessing Labor Progress and Intervention with Pitocin
To determine whether there is time to transport a woman in labor to a hospital, the following questions should be considered: has she had a baby before, how frequent are the contractions, and has the amniotic sac ruptured. All of these factors contribute to assessing the progress and urgency of labor.
Why Pitocin is Administered
Pitocin, a synthetic form of oxytocin, is administered when labor is not progressing as expected, such as in Janine’s case, where she is overdue, having mild and infrequent contractions, and her cervix is only slightly dilated. The use of Pitocin aims to induce or augment labor, increasing the frequency and strength of contractions to advance cervical dilation, pushing the labor process toward delivery.