Maternal 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 Maternal Complications flashcards as text
A patient is 3 hours postpartum and her uterus is displaced to the right of the umbilicus and feels boggy. What is the likely cause and appropriate intervention?
Answer: Uterine atony from a distended bladder; assist the patient to void
A laterally displaced boggy uterus postpartum is a classic sign of bladder distension displacing the uterus; voiding allows the uterus to contract properly to the midline.
A patient at 32 weeks gestation is admitted with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). She is GBS-negative. What is the priority nursing intervention?
Answer: Initiate fetal monitoring and assess for signs of infection and cord prolapse
With PPROM, priority nursing care involves continuous fetal monitoring for non-reassuring patterns including cord prolapse, along with assessment for chorioamnionitis (infection).
A patient is diagnosed with a postpartum deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of the left leg. Which assessment finding is consistent with this diagnosis?
Answer: Unilateral leg warmth, redness, edema, and pain with dorsiflexion
DVT presents with unilateral signs because a thrombus forms in one vessel; warmth, erythema, edema, and calf pain with dorsiflexion (Homan's sign) are classic but not always reliable indicators.
A primigravida at 36 weeks has a blood pressure of 148/96 mmHg on two readings 4 hours apart. She denies headache or visual changes and has trace proteinuria. What condition does this represent?
Answer: Gestational hypertension
Gestational hypertension is defined as BP ≥140/90 mmHg after 20 weeks without the proteinuria or end-organ involvement required to diagnose preeclampsia.
Which medication is CONTRAINDICATED in a breastfeeding patient with postpartum depression?
Answer: Lithium carbonate at high doses
Lithium is excreted in breast milk in significant concentrations and can cause lithium toxicity in the nursing infant, including hypotonia, bradycardia, and cyanosis.
A postpartum patient develops a temperature of 38.4°C (101.1°F) on day 2 after a cesarean birth. She has uterine tenderness and foul-smelling lochia. What does this indicate?
Answer: Endometritis requiring antibiotic therapy
Fever after the first 24 hours postpartum with uterine tenderness and malodorous lochia is characteristic of endometritis, a uterine infection requiring broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment.