- Unlike false labor, true labor produces regular rhythmic contractions, abdominal discomfort, progressive descent of the fetus, bloody show, and progressive effacement and dilation of the cervix.
- To help a mother break the suction of her breast-feeding infant, the nurse should teach her to insert a finger at the corner of the infant’s mouth.
- Administering high levels of oxygen to a premature neonate can cause blindness as a result of retrolental fibroplasia.
- Amniotomy is artificial rupture of the amniotic membranes.
- During pregnancy, weight gain averages 25 to 30 lb (11 to 13.5 kg).
- Rubella has a teratogenic effect on the fetus during the first trimester. It produces abnormalities in up to 40% of cases without interrupting the pregnancy.
- Immunity to rubella can be measured by a hemagglutination inhibition test (rubella titer). This test identifies exposure to rubella infection and determines susceptibility in pregnant women. In a woman, a titer greater than 1:8 indicates immunity.
- When used to describe the degree of fetal descent during labor, floating means the presenting part isn’t engaged in the pelvic inlet, but is freely movable (ballotable) above the pelvic inlet.
- When used to describe the degree of fetal descent, engagement means when the largest diameter of the presenting part has passed through the pelvic inlet.
- Fetal station indicates the location of the presenting part in relation to the ischial spine. It’s described as –1, –2, –3, –4, or –5 to indicate the number of centimeters above the level of the ischial spine; station –5 is at the pelvic inlet.
- Fetal station also is described as +1, +2, +3, +4, or +5 to indicate the number of centimeters it is below the level of the ischial spine; station 0 is at the level of the ischial spine.
- During the first stage of labor, the side-lying position usually provides the greatest degree of comfort, although the patient may assume any comfortable position.
- During delivery, if the umbilical cord can’t be loosened and slipped from around the neonate’s neck, it should be clamped with two clamps and cut between the clamps.
- An Apgar score of 7 to 10 indicates no immediate distress, 4 to 6 indicates moderate distress, and 0 to 3 indicates severe distress.
- To elicit Moro’s reflex, the nurse holds the neonate in both hands and suddenly, but gently, drops the neonate’s head backward. Normally, the neonate abducts and extends all extremities bilaterally and symmetrically, forms a C shape with the thumb and forefinger, and first adducts and then flexes the extremities.
- Pregnancy-induced hypertension (preeclampsia) is an increase in blood pressure of 30/15 mm Hg over baseline or blood pressure of 140/95 mm Hg on two occasions at least 6 hours apart accompanied by edema and albuminuria after 20 weeks’ gestation.
- Positive signs of pregnancy include ultrasound evidence, fetal heart tones, and fetal movement felt by the examiner (not usually present until 4 months’ gestation
- Goodell’s sign is softening of the cervix.
- Quickening, a presumptive sign of pregnancy, occurs between 16 and 19 weeks’ gestation.
- Ovulation ceases during pregnancy.
- Any vaginal bleeding during pregnancy should be considered a complication until proven otherwise.
To estimate the date of delivery using Nägele’s rule, the nurse counts backward 3 months from the first day of the last menstrual period and then adds 7 days to this date. - At 12 weeks’ gestation, the fundus should be at the top of the symphysis pubis.
- Cow’s milk shouldn’t be given to infants younger than age 1 because it has a low linoleic acid content and its protein is difficult for infants to digest.
- If jaundice is suspected in a neonate, the nurse should examine the infant under natural window light. If natural light is unavailable, the nurse should examine the infant under a white light.
- The three phases of a uterine contraction are increment, acme, and decrement.
- The intensity of a labor contraction can be assessed by the indentability of the uterine wall at the contraction’s peak. Intensity is graded as mild (uterine muscle is somewhat tense), moderate (uterine muscle is moderately tense), or strong (uterine muscle is boardlike).
- Chloasma, the mask of pregnancy, is pigmentation of a circumscribed area of skin (usually over the bridge of the nose and cheeks) that occurs in some pregnant women.
- The gynecoid pelvis is most ideal for delivery. Other types include platypelloid (flat), anthropoid (apelike), and android (malelike).
- Pregnant women should be advised that there is no safe level of alcohol intake.
- The frequency of uterine contractions, which is measured in minutes, is the time from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next.
- Vitamin K is administered to neonates to prevent hemorrhagic disorders because a neonate’s intestine can’t synthesize vitamin K.
Before internal fetal monitoring can be performed, a pregnant patient’s cervix must be dilated at least 2 cm, the amniotic membranes must be ruptured, and the fetus’s presenting part (scalp or buttocks) must be at station –1 or lower, so that a small electrode can be attached. - Fetal alcohol syndrome presents in the first 24 hours after birth and produces lethargy, seizures, poor sucking reflex, abdominal distention, and respiratory difficulty.
- Variability is any change in the fetal heart rate (FHR) from its normal rate of 120 to 160 beats/minute. Acceleration is increased FHR; deceleration is decreased FHR.
- In a neonate, the symptoms of heroin withdrawal may begin several hours to 4 days after birth.
- In a neonate, the symptoms of methadone withdrawal may begin 7 days to several weeks after birth.
- In a neonate, the cardinal signs of narcotic withdrawal include coarse, flapping tremors; sleepiness; restlessness; prolonged, persistent, high-pitched cry; and irritability.
- The nurse should count a neonate’s respirations for 1 full minute.
- Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) is used to treat neonates who are addicted to narcotics.
- The nurse should provide a dark, quiet environment for a neonate who is experiencing narcotic withdrawal.
- In a premature neonate, signs of respiratory distress include nostril flaring, substernal retractions, and inspiratory grunting.
- Respiratory distress syndrome (hyaline membrane disease) develops in premature infants because their pulmonary alveoli lack surfactant.
Whenever an infant is being put down to sleep, the parent or caregiver should position the infant on the back. (Remember back to sleep.) - The male sperm contributes an X or a Y chromosome; the female ovum contributes an X chromosome.
- Fertilization produces a total of 46 chromosomes, including an XY combination (male) or an XX combination (female).
- The percentage of water in a neonate’s body is about 78% to 80%.
- To perform nasotracheal suctioning in an infant, the nurse positions the infant with his neck slightly hyperextended in a “sniffing” position, with his chin up and his head tilted back slightly.
- Organogenesis occurs during the first trimester of pregnancy, specifically, days 14 to 56 of gestation.
- After birth, the neonate’s umbilical cord is tied 1″ (2.5 cm) from the abdominal wall with a cotton cord, plastic clamp, or rubber band.
- Gravida is the number of pregnancies a woman has had, regardless of outcome.
- Para is the number of pregnancies that reached viability, regardless of whether the fetus was delivered alive or stillborn. A fetus is considered viable at 20 weeks’ gestation.
An ectopic pregnancy is one that implants abnormally, outside the uterus. - The first stage of labor begins with the onset of labor and ends with full cervical dilation at 10 cm.
From John Bryan Lee of Scribd.com