NSG 123 Exam 3: Coping and Perinatal Loss – Grief, Bereavement,
Therapeutic Communication, Age-Appropriate Death Concepts | Q&A | Grade
A | 100% Correct (Verified Answers) – Nursing Program
Subject: Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing / Perinatal Loss – Coping with Grief & Bereavement;
Perinatal Loss Definition (Pregnancy Loss to Neonatal Loss <1 month); Causes of Perinatal Loss
(Spontaneous Abortion, Induced Abortion, Ruptured Ectopic Pregnancy, Intrauterine Fetal Demise after 20
weeks); Intrauterine Fetal Demise (Placental/Cord Abnormalities, Maternal Cardiovascular/Hematologic
Conditions, HTN, Infection, Congenital Abnormalities, Blunt Trauma, Prolonged Pregnancy, PROM);
Induction after Confirmed No Fetal Heartbeat; Complicated Grief (Inability to Move On After One Year);
Maternal Denial (Seeking Second Opinion); Therapeutic Communication ("I'm here to listen"; "The baby
has no heartbeat"; Validate Need for Answers); Allowing Parents to Hold/View Stillborn; Grief Duration
Variable; Nurse's Role During Loss (Listening, Support, Privacy, Education); Age-Appropriate
Understanding of Death (Infants to Teens)
Source: NSG 123 Exam 3 Coping and Perinatal Loss Bank – Latest 2026/2027 Curriculum
Format: Q&A Guide with Clinical Rationale
1. What is perinatal loss?
Correct Answer: Pregnancy loss or neonatal loss up to one month of age.
1. Includes miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal death.
2. Causes: spontaneous abortion, induced abortion, ruptured ectopic pregnancy, intrauterine fetal demise.
2. What is intrauterine fetal demise?
Correct Answer: After 20 weeks gestation. Placental or cord abnormalities secondary to maternal
cardiovascular or hematologic conditions, maternal HTN, infection, poor maternal health, or fetal
congenital abnormalities, blunt trauma, prolonged pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes.
1. Induction occurs after it is confirmed that there is no fetal heartbeat.
2. Intrauterine fetal demise is a type of perinatal loss.
3. After giving birth to a stillborn infant, the woman turns to the nurse and says, "I just finished painting the
baby's room. Do you think that caused my baby to die?" What is the nurse's best response?
1. "That's an old wives' tale; lots of women are around paint during pregnancy, and this doesn't happen
to them."
2. "That's not likely. Paint is associated with elevated pediatric lead levels."
3. Silence
4. "I can understand your need to find an answer to what caused this. What else are you thinking
about?"
Correct Answer: 4. "I can understand your need to find an answer to what caused this. What else are
you thinking about?"
1. Validates the mother's need to find meaning.
2. Open-ended question encourages expression of feelings.
3. Avoids false reassurance or dismissing concerns.
, 4. The nurse is caring for a bereaved client who suffered a perinatal loss. What is the nurse's best response?
1. "Life must go on."
2. "I'm here to listen."
3. "You can still have more children."
4. "God has a purpose in all things."
Correct Answer: 2. "I'm here to listen."
1. Offers presence and support without judgment.
2. Avoids clichés or minimizing the loss.
3. Therapeutic communication validates grief.
5. A pregnant client experiences severe bleeding at 30 weeks of gestation. While performing the ultrasound, the
nurse discovers that the fetus is dead. How does the nurse present this information to the client?
1. "Your baby has left us."
2. "You have lost your baby."
3. "The baby has no heartbeat"
4. "The baby has passed away."
Correct Answer: 3. "The baby has no heartbeat"
1. Direct, clear, factual communication is best.
2. Avoids euphemisms that may cause confusion.
3. Allows parents to process the reality of the loss.
6. During a follow-up phone call near the anniversary of an infant's death, the husband reports to the nurse, "My
wife has been unable to move on and resume her normal life even after a year." What does the nurse infer from
the wife's behavior?
1. The wife is mourning.
2. The wife is experiencing ambiguous loss.
3. The wife is experiencing complicated grief.
4. The wife is experiencing disenfranchised grief.
Correct Answer: 3. The wife is experiencing complicated grief.
1. Complicated grief persists beyond expected time (usually >12 months).
2. Characterized by inability to resume normal life.
3. May require professional grief counseling.
7. A pregnant client asks the nurse for a second opinion after being informed about the death of the fetus. What
does the nurse infer from the client's behavior?
1. The client has professional mistrust.
2. The client is experiencing maternal denial.
3. The client is going through complicated grief.
4. The client is going through disenfranchised grief.
Correct Answer: 2. The client is experiencing maternal denial.
1. Denial is an early grief response.
2. Seeking second opinion reflects inability to accept the news.
3. Allow time for the information to be processed.
Therapeutic Communication, Age-Appropriate Death Concepts | Q&A | Grade
A | 100% Correct (Verified Answers) – Nursing Program
Subject: Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing / Perinatal Loss – Coping with Grief & Bereavement;
Perinatal Loss Definition (Pregnancy Loss to Neonatal Loss <1 month); Causes of Perinatal Loss
(Spontaneous Abortion, Induced Abortion, Ruptured Ectopic Pregnancy, Intrauterine Fetal Demise after 20
weeks); Intrauterine Fetal Demise (Placental/Cord Abnormalities, Maternal Cardiovascular/Hematologic
Conditions, HTN, Infection, Congenital Abnormalities, Blunt Trauma, Prolonged Pregnancy, PROM);
Induction after Confirmed No Fetal Heartbeat; Complicated Grief (Inability to Move On After One Year);
Maternal Denial (Seeking Second Opinion); Therapeutic Communication ("I'm here to listen"; "The baby
has no heartbeat"; Validate Need for Answers); Allowing Parents to Hold/View Stillborn; Grief Duration
Variable; Nurse's Role During Loss (Listening, Support, Privacy, Education); Age-Appropriate
Understanding of Death (Infants to Teens)
Source: NSG 123 Exam 3 Coping and Perinatal Loss Bank – Latest 2026/2027 Curriculum
Format: Q&A Guide with Clinical Rationale
1. What is perinatal loss?
Correct Answer: Pregnancy loss or neonatal loss up to one month of age.
1. Includes miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal death.
2. Causes: spontaneous abortion, induced abortion, ruptured ectopic pregnancy, intrauterine fetal demise.
2. What is intrauterine fetal demise?
Correct Answer: After 20 weeks gestation. Placental or cord abnormalities secondary to maternal
cardiovascular or hematologic conditions, maternal HTN, infection, poor maternal health, or fetal
congenital abnormalities, blunt trauma, prolonged pregnancy, premature rupture of membranes.
1. Induction occurs after it is confirmed that there is no fetal heartbeat.
2. Intrauterine fetal demise is a type of perinatal loss.
3. After giving birth to a stillborn infant, the woman turns to the nurse and says, "I just finished painting the
baby's room. Do you think that caused my baby to die?" What is the nurse's best response?
1. "That's an old wives' tale; lots of women are around paint during pregnancy, and this doesn't happen
to them."
2. "That's not likely. Paint is associated with elevated pediatric lead levels."
3. Silence
4. "I can understand your need to find an answer to what caused this. What else are you thinking
about?"
Correct Answer: 4. "I can understand your need to find an answer to what caused this. What else are
you thinking about?"
1. Validates the mother's need to find meaning.
2. Open-ended question encourages expression of feelings.
3. Avoids false reassurance or dismissing concerns.
, 4. The nurse is caring for a bereaved client who suffered a perinatal loss. What is the nurse's best response?
1. "Life must go on."
2. "I'm here to listen."
3. "You can still have more children."
4. "God has a purpose in all things."
Correct Answer: 2. "I'm here to listen."
1. Offers presence and support without judgment.
2. Avoids clichés or minimizing the loss.
3. Therapeutic communication validates grief.
5. A pregnant client experiences severe bleeding at 30 weeks of gestation. While performing the ultrasound, the
nurse discovers that the fetus is dead. How does the nurse present this information to the client?
1. "Your baby has left us."
2. "You have lost your baby."
3. "The baby has no heartbeat"
4. "The baby has passed away."
Correct Answer: 3. "The baby has no heartbeat"
1. Direct, clear, factual communication is best.
2. Avoids euphemisms that may cause confusion.
3. Allows parents to process the reality of the loss.
6. During a follow-up phone call near the anniversary of an infant's death, the husband reports to the nurse, "My
wife has been unable to move on and resume her normal life even after a year." What does the nurse infer from
the wife's behavior?
1. The wife is mourning.
2. The wife is experiencing ambiguous loss.
3. The wife is experiencing complicated grief.
4. The wife is experiencing disenfranchised grief.
Correct Answer: 3. The wife is experiencing complicated grief.
1. Complicated grief persists beyond expected time (usually >12 months).
2. Characterized by inability to resume normal life.
3. May require professional grief counseling.
7. A pregnant client asks the nurse for a second opinion after being informed about the death of the fetus. What
does the nurse infer from the client's behavior?
1. The client has professional mistrust.
2. The client is experiencing maternal denial.
3. The client is going through complicated grief.
4. The client is going through disenfranchised grief.
Correct Answer: 2. The client is experiencing maternal denial.
1. Denial is an early grief response.
2. Seeking second opinion reflects inability to accept the news.
3. Allow time for the information to be processed.
