Maternal Nursing Bullets for NLE
- Amniocentesis increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, trauma to the fetus or placenta, premature labor, infection, and Rh sensitization of the fetus.
- After amniocentesis, abdominal cramping or spontaneous vaginal bleeding may indicate complications.
- To prevent her from developing Rh antibodies, an Rh-negative primigravida should receive Rho(D) immune globulin (RhoGAM) after delivering an Rh-positive neonate.
- If a pregnant patient’s test results are negative for glucose but positive for acetone, the nurse should assess the patient’s diet for inadequate caloric intake.
- If a pregnant patient’s test results are negative for glucose but positive for acetone, the nurse should assess the patient’s diet for inadequate caloric intake.
- Rubella infection in a pregnant patient, especially during the first trimester, can lead to spontaneous abortion or stillbirth as well as fetal cardiac and other birth defects.
- A pregnant patient should take an iron supplement to help prevent anemia.
- Direct antiglobulin (direct Coombs’) test is used to detect maternal antibodies attached to red blood cells in the neonate.
- Nausea and vomiting during the first trimester of pregnancy are caused by rising levels of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin.
- Before discharging a patient who has had an abortion, the nurse should instruct her to report bright red clots, bleeding that lasts longer than 7 days, or signs of infection, such as a temperature of greater than 100° F (37.8° C), foul-smelling vaginal discharge, severe uterine cramping, nausea, or vomiting.
- When informed that a patient’s amniotic membrane has broken, the nurse should check fetal heart tones and then maternal vital signs.
- The duration of pregnancy averages 280 days, 40 weeks, 9 calendar months, or 10 lunar months.
- The initial weight loss for a healthy neonate is 5% to 10% of birth weight.
- The normal hemoglobin value in neonates is 17 to 20 g/dl.
- Crowning is the appearance of the fetus’s head when its largest diameter is encircled by the vulvovaginal ring.
- A multipara is a woman who has had two or more pregnancies that progressed to viability, regardless of whether the offspring were alive at birth.
- In a pregnant patient, preeclampsia may progress to eclampsia, which is characterized by seizures and may lead to coma.
- The Apgar score is used to assess the neonate’s vital functions. It’s obtained at 1 minute and 5 minutes after delivery. The score is based on respiratory effort, heart rate, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and color.
- Because of the anti-insulin effects of placental hormones, insulin requirements increase during the third trimester.
- Gestational age can be estimated by ultrasound measurement of maternal abdominal circumference, fetal femur length, and fetal head size. These measurements are most accurate between 12 and 18 weeks’ gestation.
- Skeletal system abnormalities and ventricular septal defects are the most common disorders of infants who are born to diabetic women. The incidence of congenital malformation is three times higher in these infants than in those born to nondiabetic women.
- Skeletal system abnormalities and ventricular septal defects are the most common disorders of infants who are born to diabetic women. The incidence of congenital malformation is three times higher in these infants than in those born to nondiabetic women.
- The patient with preeclampsia usually has puffiness around the eyes or edema in the hands (for example, “I can’t put my wedding ring on.”).
- Kegel exercises require contraction and relaxation of the perineal muscles. These exercises help strengthen pelvic muscles and improve urine control in postpartum patients.
- Symptoms of postpartum depression range from mild postpartum blues to intense, suicidal, depressive psychosis.
- The preterm neonate may require gavage feedings because of a weak sucking reflex, uncoordinated sucking, or respiratory distress.
- Acrocyanosis (blueness and coolness of the arms and legs) is normal in neonates because of their immature peripheral circulatory system.
- To prevent ophthalmia neonatorum (a severe eye infection caused by maternal gonorrhea), the nurse may administer one of three drugs, as prescribed, in the neonate’s eyes: tetracycline, silver nitrate, or erythromycin.
- Neonatal testing for phenylketonuria is mandatory in most states.
- The nurse should place the neonate in a 30-degree Trendelenburg position to facilitate mucus drainage.
- The nurse may suction the neonate’s nose and mouth as needed with a bulb syringe or suction trap.
- To prevent heat loss, the nurse should place the neonate under a radiant warmer during suctioning and initial delivery-room care, and then wrap the neonate in a warmed blanket for transport to the nursery.
- The umbilical cord normally has two arteries and one vein.
- When providing care, the nurse should expose only one part of an infant’s body at a time.
- Lightening is settling of the fetal head into the brim of the pelvis.
- The nurse must place identification bands on both the mother and the neonate before they leave the delivery room.
- Erythromycin is given at birth to prevent ophthalmia neonatorum.
- Pelvic-tilt exercises can help to prevent or relieve backache during pregnancy.
- Before performing a Leopold maneuver, the nurse should ask the patient to empty her bladder.
