ABDOMINAL

EXAMINATION:
PREPARED BY: MJ CHABALALA-NAGENDA.
10.11.2016
Objectives:
 At the end of the lesson’ learners
must be able to:
o Mention various aims why an

abdominal examination is performed.

o Define concepts related to abdominal

examination.
o Demonstrate abdominal palpation to

each other.
AIMS OF ABDOMINAL EXAMINATION:

1. Observe the signs of pregnancy.

2. Assess fetal size and growth.
3. Auscultate the fetal heart.
4. Locate fetal parts.
5. Detect any deviation from
normal.
Preparation:
A full bladder will make the
examination uncomfortable, this can
also make the measurement of fundal
height less accurate.
 It is important for the midwife to

expose only the part to be examined.

 The woman should be lying

comfortably with her arms by her sides

to relax the abdominal muscles.
METHOD:
INSPECTION:
 The size: of the uterus is assessed
approximately by observation.
 Skin changes: Stretch marks from

previous pregnancies appear silvery and

recent ones appear pink. A linea nigra
may be seen; this is a normal dark line
of pigmentation running longitudinally
 Scars may indicate previous obstetric or

abdominal surgery.
Cont:
 The shape of the abdomen:
PALPATION:
 Themidwife`s hands should be
clean and warm. Cold hands do
not have the necessary acute
sense of touch, they tend to
induce contraction of the
abdominal and uterine muscles
and the woman may find
palpation uncomfortable.
CONT:
 Inorder to determine the height
of the fundus the distance
between the fundus and the
symphysis pubis can be
determined with a tape measure.
PELVIC PALPATION:
 Pelvicpalpation is carried out to identify
the pole of the fetus in the pelvis.
 The midwife should ask the woman to

bend her knees slightly in order to relax

the abdominal muscles and also
suggest that she breaths steadily. The
sides of the uterus just below the
umbilical level are grasped snugly
between palms of
Cont:
The hands with fingers held close
together, and pointing downwards
and inwards.
If the head is presenting, a hard mass
with a distinctive round, smooth
surface will be felt. The midwife
should also estimate how much of the
fetal head is palpable above the
pelvic brim to determine engement.
CONT:

Engagement:is said to have
occurred when the widest
presenting traverse diameter has
passed through the brim of the
pelvis.
CONT:
 In cephalic presentations this is the
biparietal diameter and in breech
presentations this is the bitrochanteric
diameter.
 Engagement demonstrates that the

maternal pelvis is likely to be

adequate for the size of the fetus and
that the baby will be born vaginally.
CONT:
 Inprimigravid woman, the head
normally engages anytime from
about 36 weeks of pregnancy, but
in a multipara this may occur until
after onset of labour. When the
vertex presents and the head is
engaged the following will be
evident on clinical examination:
CONT:
 Only two-to-three-fifths of the
fetal head is palpable above the
pelvic brim.
 The head is not mobile.
 If the head is not engaged, the

findings are follows;

 More than half of the head is

palpable above the brim.

CONT:
 The head may be high and freely
movable. (ballotable) or partly
settled in the pelvic brim and
consequently immobile.
LATERAL PALPATION:
 This is used to locate the fetal back
in order to determine position. The
hands are placed on either side of
the uterus at the level of the
umbilicus.
 Gentle pressure is applied with

alternate hands in order to detect

which side of the uterus offers the
greater resistance.
CONT:
 `walking’ the fingertips of both hands over the
abdomen from one side to the other is an
excellent method of locating the back. The
fingers should be dipped into the abdominal wall
deeply.
Fundal Palpation. This determines the
presence of the breech or the head.
This information will help to
diagnose the lie and presentation of
fetus.
CONT:
 Watching the Woman`s reaction to the
procedure, the midwife lays both hands
on the sides of the fundus, fingers held
close together and curving round the
upper border of the uterus. Gentle, yet
deliberate pressure is applied using the
palmar surfaces of the fingers to
determine the soft consistency and
indefinite outline that denotes breech.
The lie:
 The lie of the fetus is the
relationship between the long axis
of the fetus and the long axis .of
the uterus
 In the majority of cases the lie is

longitudinal owing to the ovoid

shape of the uterus; the remainder
are oblique or transverse.
CONT:
 When the lie is transverse the
fetus lies at right angles across
the long axis of the uterus.
Auscultation:
 Listening to the fetal heart is an
important part of the process. Like
all heartbeats it is a double sound,
but more rapid than the adult
heart. A Pinard`s fetal stethoscope
will enable the midwife to hear the
fetal heart directly and determine
that it is fetal and not maternal.
CONT:
 The stethoscope is placed on the
mother`s abdomen, at right angles to it
over the fetal back. The ear must be in
close, firm contact with the stethoscope
but the hand should not touch it while
listening because then extraneous
sounds are produced. The midwife
should count the beats per minute,
which should be in the range of 110-
160.