Exam 13: Promoting Patient Comfort During Labor and Birth

The perinatal nurse is aware that a 25-year-old woman with gestational hypertension in labor would benefit most from which pharmacological pain relief medication?

A patient in labor complains of a pain rating of 7 on a 1-to-10 scale.On assessing the patient further,the nurse finds her vital signs to be within normal limits,the patient is calm and cooperative,and she voided 400 mL 30 minutes ago.What action by the nurse is best?

The perinatal nurse prepares the laboring woman for an epidural anesthesia insertion.What action is best to help prevent maternal hypotension?

A nurse receives a handoff report on a newborn who is jaundiced.The off-going nurse states that the mother received some sort of sedative during the intrapartum period.The nurse should check the mother's chart for what medication?

The perinatal nurse explains to the student nurse that the effects of the H? receptor antagonists include which of the following?

A nursing instructor is explaining the differences between the somatic and visceral pain felt by women in labor to a class of nursing students.Which statement about these two types of pain is inconsistent with thorough knowledge of these two types of pain?

A woman in labor receives a dose of hydromorphone hydrochloride (Dilaudid)at 11:30 a.m.She gives birth at 12:45 p.m.What action by the nurse takes priority?

While providing a hospital tour,the perinatal nurse shows the compact disc player stored in the birthing room.The nurse explains that music is encouraged during labor because it does which of the following?

A patient in labor has internal fetal monitoring and normal vital signs.All fetal signs are reassuring.She wishes to try whirlpool bath hydrotherapy as a comfort measure.Which action by the nurse is best?

A nurse is teaching a woman about pain management strategies during labor.The woman expresses great fear about the experience.Which of the following statements by the nurse would help to ease the woman's fears?

A woman is being prepared for an elective cesarean birth.The perinatal nurse assists the anesthesiologist with the spinal block and then positions the patient in a supine position.The patient's blood pressure drops to 90/52 mm Hg and there is a decrease in the fetal heart rate to 110 beats/minute.Which response by the nurse is best?

A labor and delivery nurse explains to the student that the most common complication following a spinal anesthesia block is which of the following?

The perinatal nurse explains to the new graduate nurse that fear and anxiety have physiological consequences in labor.The nurse is referring to what physiological process?

A woman is using a birth ball to promote comfort and fetal descent.The nurse observes the woman rocking back and forth while sitting on the ball.What action by the nurse is most appropriate?

The perinatal nurse observes a woman entering the transition phase of labor while she uses a patterned breathing method to cope with the increasing strength of contractions.She complains of light-headedness and tingling in her fingers.The most appropriate intervention by the nurse is to assist the patient in doing which of the following?

A nurse is caring for a pregnant woman scheduled to have an epidural block.The nurse reviews the woman's admission laboratory results and finds the following: white blood count (WBC)6,500/ mm³,hemoglobin 14 mg/dL,hematocrit 38%,platelet count 98,000,and international normalized ratio (INR)4.2.What action by the nurse is best?

What nursing intervention would be most important for a postpartum woman who received spinal anesthesia?

The perinatal nurse is assessing a 36-year-old woman at term who is in early labor.The nurse assesses for findings that indicate pain,including which of the following?

A woman has just given birth to an infant weighing 9 lb,15 oz (4,350 g)with the assistance of forceps and an episiotomy.The patient received a pudendal block 12 minutes before the birth.The perinatal nurse would expect which of the following responses to the block?

The perinatal nurse understands that the purpose of combining an opioid with a local anesthetic agent in an epidural is primarily for which of the following?