Laurie is a 32-year-old primigravida at 40 weeks of gestation who
is admitted to the Labor and Delivery unit in early labor. She has
no known risk factors. Her bag of waters is intact, and she is 3 cm
dilated, 90% effaced, and –1 station. The fetal heart rate is 120
with moderate variability, and she is contracting 3 to 4 minutes
apart for 60 seconds.
As a woman progresses through the stages of labor, various body
system adaptations will...