High-Risk Pregnancy Complications Flashcards
6 cards from real Maternal Newborn Nursing Test practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 High-Risk Pregnancy Complications flashcards as text
A client with gestational diabetes is at 38 weeks gestation. Her fasting blood glucose is consistently 108 mg/dL despite dietary changes. What is the next expected intervention?
Answer: Initiation of insulin therapy
When diet and exercise fail to control fasting glucose above 95 mg/dL in gestational diabetes, insulin is the preferred pharmacologic therapy as it does not cross the placenta.
Which maternal complication of gestational diabetes (GDM) places the fetus at greatest risk for macrosomia?
Answer: Chronic maternal hyperglycemia stimulating fetal insulin production and fat deposition
Chronic hyperglycemia in GDM causes glucose to cross the placenta, stimulating fetal hyperinsulinemia, which drives excessive fat storage and macrosomia.
A client is diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum at 10 weeks gestation. Which finding would require hospitalization?
Answer: Weight loss of more than 5% of pre-pregnancy body weight with ketonuria
Hyperemesis gravidarum requiring hospitalization is indicated by dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, ketonuria, and weight loss >5% of pre-pregnancy weight unresponsive to outpatient management.
A nurse is caring for a client with an ectopic pregnancy. Which assessment finding warrants immediate emergency intervention?
Answer: Sudden severe unilateral lower abdominal pain with shoulder pain and signs of shock
Rupture of an ectopic pregnancy causes severe abdominal pain, referred shoulder pain (diaphragmatic irritation from hemoperitoneum), and hemodynamic instability requiring emergency surgery.
A client at 26 weeks gestation is admitted with preterm labor. Which medication is administered to accelerate fetal lung maturity?
Answer: Betamethasone (Celestone)
Antenatal corticosteroids such as betamethasone (given at 24–34 weeks) stimulate surfactant production, reducing the risk of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome.
Which blood type and Rh factor combination places a pregnant client at risk for isoimmunization if the father is Rh positive?
Answer: Rh-negative mother with Rh-positive fetus
An Rh-negative mother carrying an Rh-positive fetus is at risk for isoimmunization if fetal blood enters maternal circulation, leading to maternal antibody formation that can destroy fetal red blood cells in subsequent pregnancies.