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Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL: PART II
Research Proposal: Part II
Liberty University
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RESEARCH PROPOSAL: PART II
Research Proposal: Part II
Background
Delivery by cesarean section has become the most common surgical procedure performed
worldwide and, when done in necessity, can decrease perinatal morbidity and mortality
significantly (Montoya-Williams et al., 2017). However, a cesarean section is considered major
surgery and carries many risks, including surgical site infection, hemorrhage, complications in
future pregnancies, and even maternal and/or neonatal death. The most common reason that a
woman in labor undergoes delivery via cesarean section is due to dysfunctional labor, or
dystocia, in which labor does not progress and the cervix ceases to dilate ( . Murphy et al., 2015)
This occurs when the uterus no longer functions as it should and fails to create an adequate
contraction pattern in order to create cervical change needed for vaginal delivery.
Due to the unpredictability of labor and potential need for delivery by cesarean section,
women are traditionally barred from eating and instructed that they may consume ice chips only
or sometimes nothing at all. This policy became the practice standard in the 1940s and stems
from the unlikely potential that a woman may end up needing general anesthesia to undergo an
urgent or emergent cesarean section. This practice was said to decrease the risk of aspiration and
its associated pneumonia related to general anesthesia and intubation (Chackowicz, Spence, &
Abenhaim, 2016). However, with new research on this topic, this policy has become outdated
and could actually create adverse effects on the woman during labor and delivery, such as
nausea, vomiting, and operative vaginal delivery due to fatigue (Chackowicz, Spence, &
Abenhaim, 2016).
