Hmm..Obstetrics?????
Answers: Obstetrics is the surgical specialty dealing next to the care of a woman and her baby during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (the term shortly after birth). Midwifery is the equivalent non-surgical specialty. Most obstetricians are also gynaecologists (OB/Gyn's).
In obstetric practice, an obstetrician sees a pregnant woman on a regular basis to check the progress of the pregnancy, to verify the fantasy of problems and diseases, to monitor the state of pre-existing disease and its possible effect on the ongoing pregnancy.
A woman's schedule of antenatal appointment varies according to the presence of risk factor, such as diabetes, and local resources.
Some of the clinically and statistically more important risk factors that must be systematically excluded, especially within advancing pregnancy, are pre-eclampsia, abnormal placentation, out of the ordinary fetal presentation and Intrauterine growth restriction.
For example, to identify pre-eclampsia, blood-pressure and albuminuria (level of urine protein) are checked at every opportunity.
Placenta praevia must be excluded (PP = low lying placenta that, at least partially, obstruct the birth canal and therefore warrant elective caesarean delivery); this can only be achieved near the use of an ultrasound scan.
In late pregnancy fetal presentation must be established: cephalic presentation (head first) is the norm but the foetus may present feet-first or buttocks-first (breech), side-on (transverse), or at an angle (oblique presentation).
Intrauterine Growth Restriction is a general designation, where on earth the foetus is smaller than expected when compared to its gestational age (in this case fetal growth parameters show a disposition to drop off from the 50th percentile eventually falling below the 10th percentile, when plotted on a fetal growth chart). Causes can be intrinsic (to the foetus) or extrinsic (maternal or placental problems).
During labor itself, the obstetrician may be called on to do various things such as monitor the progress of labor, by reviewing the nursing chart, performing vaginal examination, assessing the trace produced by a fetal monitoring device (the cardio tocograph), accelerate the progress of labor by infusion of the hormone oxytocin, provide dull pain relief, opiates, or by epidural anaesthesia done by anaesthetists, an anaesthesiologist, or a nurse anaesthetist. Obstetricians can also surgically assist labor, by forceps or the Ventouse (a suction cap applied to the foetus' head), by caesarean bit, if vaginal delivery is decided against or appears too difficult. Caesarean fragment can either be elective, that is, arranged up to that time labor, or decided during labor as an alternative to hours of waiting. True "emergency" caesarean sections (where minutes count) are a rarity.
I hope that this information help answer your question. Good luck :)