NUR 2513 – MATERNAL CHILD NURSING
COMPREHENSIVE PRACTICE EXAM 1
EDITION
Rasmussen University | 100 Questions | Modules 1–3
Aligned with ACOG / AAP / CDC 2026–2027 Evidence-Based Guidelines
Sections 1–9 | Multiple Choice (A–D) | Correct answers marked ✓
,SECTION 1: Foundations of Maternal-Child Nursing – Family-Centered Care,
Ethics, Legal Issues, Cultural Safety & Current Trends (Q1–Q12)
Q1. A nurse working on a postpartum unit explains the philosophy of family-centered maternity
care to a new graduate. Which statement BEST describes this philosophy?
A. Care focuses exclusively on the physical recovery of the mother after delivery.
B. The newborn is kept in the nursery to allow the mother maximum rest.
C. Birth is a normal life event; care involves the entire family unit and respects
their choices. ✓
D. Decisions about labor and delivery are made primarily by the obstetric team.
Correct Answer: C | Rationale: Family-centered care views childbirth as a normal, healthy event and
actively involves the entire family in planning and providing care, respecting individual choices. Options
A, B, and D are paternalistic models inconsistent with family-centered philosophy.
Q2. A 16-year-old patient presents to the prenatal clinic and states she does not want her
parents informed of her pregnancy. The nurse's BEST response is guided by which ethical
principle?
A. Beneficence – the nurse must notify parents to promote the patient's well-being.
B. Confidentiality – the minor's right to privacy must be respected within legal
limits. ✓
C. Justice – resources must be distributed fairly among all patients.
D. Fidelity – the nurse must always tell the truth to the family.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: Confidentiality protects a patient's private health information. Most
states recognize a minor's right to consent to and receive confidential prenatal care. Beneficence,
justice, and fidelity do not override the minor's right to confidentiality in this context.
Q3. A nurse is obtaining informed consent for an amniocentesis. The patient says, 'I'm not sure I
understand what this involves.' What is the nurse's priority action?
A. Proceed with consent because the physician already explained the procedure.
B. Document that the patient refused the procedure.
C. Notify the physician that the patient requires further explanation before signing.
✓
D. Ask the patient's partner to sign the consent form.
Correct Answer: C | Rationale: Informed consent requires that the patient understands the
procedure, risks, benefits, and alternatives. The nurse's role is to identify knowledge gaps and notify the
provider for further teaching. Proceeding without understanding or substituting the partner's signature
violates informed consent principles.
Q4. Which of the following is a current trend in maternal-child healthcare as of 2026?
, A. Longer routine hospital stays for uncomplicated vaginal deliveries (5–7 days).
B. Expansion of community-based and home-visiting maternal health programs. ✓
C. Restriction of midwife-led care to reduce malpractice liability.
D. Elimination of telehealth services for prenatal follow-up.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: A major 2026 trend is expansion of community-based services, home
visiting, and telehealth to improve access and reduce maternal mortality disparities. Hospital stays for
uncomplicated vaginal births are typically 48 hours; midwife-led care and telehealth have expanded,
not contracted.
Q5. A Somali patient refuses a vaginal examination by a male obstetrician. The culturally safe
nursing response is to:
A. Explain that the male physician is the most qualified and proceed.
B. Document patient non-compliance and reschedule the appointment.
C. Advocate for a female provider or a chaperone arrangement that respects the
patient's cultural values. ✓
D. Perform the vaginal examination yourself without physician presence.
Correct Answer: C | Rationale: Cultural safety requires acknowledging and accommodating
patients' cultural and religious values. Advocating for a female provider or an acceptable chaperone
arrangement respects the patient's dignity. Overriding her refusal or labeling her non-compliant is
culturally unsafe and legally problematic.
Q6. Which Healthy People 2030 goal is directly relevant to maternal-child nursing practice?
A. Reduce the incidence of workplace injuries among healthcare workers.
B. Reduce maternal mortality and improve preconception health. ✓
C. Increase the number of hospital beds in rural areas.
D. Expand insurance coverage for dental procedures.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: Healthy People 2030 specifically targets reducing maternal
mortality, improving preconception health, and eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in maternal
outcomes. The other options are not primary maternal-child nursing goals within this framework.
Q7. A nurse documents that a patient delivered 'precipitously at home before EMS arrival.'
Which legal record-keeping principle is MOST important?
A. Record only what was witnessed by a licensed provider.
B. Entries should be timely, accurate, objective, and complete. ✓
C. Omit details that could expose the hospital to liability.
D. Use correction fluid to fix errors in the paper chart.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: Legal documentation must be timely, accurate, objective, factual, and
complete. Omitting information or using correction fluid are legally and ethically improper;
documentation of events reported by EMS is appropriate when clearly attributed.
, Q8. A nurse is caring for a patient whose cultural background includes a belief that discussing
birth complications will cause them to occur. The nurse should:
A. Insist on providing full risk information regardless of patient discomfort.
B. Omit all risk information to avoid distressing the patient.
C. Use a culturally sensitive approach that balances the ethical duty to inform with
respect for cultural beliefs, involving an interpreter as needed. ✓
D. Delegate cultural concerns to the social worker exclusively.
Correct Answer: C | Rationale: Culturally competent care balances the ethical obligation to provide
informed consent with sensitivity to cultural beliefs. Engaging a professional interpreter and framing
information respectfully honors both ethics and culture. Omitting all risk information violates informed
consent.
Q9. Which statement about the nurse's role in ethical decision-making in maternal-child
nursing is CORRECT?
A. The nurse's role is limited to carrying out physician orders without ethical input.
B. Nurses serve as patient advocates and bring ethical concerns to the
interdisciplinary team. ✓
C. Ethical dilemmas in obstetrics are resolved exclusively by hospital ethics committees.
D. Cultural and personal values should never influence ethical decisions.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: Nurses are frontline patient advocates and have a professional and
ethical obligation to voice concerns and participate in interdisciplinary ethical decision-making. Ethics
committees consult but do not exclusively resolve all dilemmas; cultural context is always relevant.
Q10. A nurse is teaching a community group about the leading cause of preventable maternal
mortality in the United States. Which condition should the nurse emphasize?
A. Gestational diabetes mellitus.
B. Cardiovascular disease and hemorrhage. ✓
C. Urinary tract infections during pregnancy.
D. Hyperemesis gravidarum.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: Cardiovascular conditions and obstetric hemorrhage are among the
leading causes of preventable maternal mortality in the U.S. per CDC reports. Gestational diabetes, UTIs,
and hyperemesis gravidarum contribute to morbidity but not as the top causes of maternal death.
Q11. A nurse working in a low-income prenatal clinic notices racial disparities in access to
prenatal care. The principle of ________ compels the nurse to advocate for equitable resource
distribution.
A. Autonomy
B. Nonmaleficence
C. Justice ✓
D. Veracity
COMPREHENSIVE PRACTICE EXAM 1
EDITION
Rasmussen University | 100 Questions | Modules 1–3
Aligned with ACOG / AAP / CDC 2026–2027 Evidence-Based Guidelines
Sections 1–9 | Multiple Choice (A–D) | Correct answers marked ✓
,SECTION 1: Foundations of Maternal-Child Nursing – Family-Centered Care,
Ethics, Legal Issues, Cultural Safety & Current Trends (Q1–Q12)
Q1. A nurse working on a postpartum unit explains the philosophy of family-centered maternity
care to a new graduate. Which statement BEST describes this philosophy?
A. Care focuses exclusively on the physical recovery of the mother after delivery.
B. The newborn is kept in the nursery to allow the mother maximum rest.
C. Birth is a normal life event; care involves the entire family unit and respects
their choices. ✓
D. Decisions about labor and delivery are made primarily by the obstetric team.
Correct Answer: C | Rationale: Family-centered care views childbirth as a normal, healthy event and
actively involves the entire family in planning and providing care, respecting individual choices. Options
A, B, and D are paternalistic models inconsistent with family-centered philosophy.
Q2. A 16-year-old patient presents to the prenatal clinic and states she does not want her
parents informed of her pregnancy. The nurse's BEST response is guided by which ethical
principle?
A. Beneficence – the nurse must notify parents to promote the patient's well-being.
B. Confidentiality – the minor's right to privacy must be respected within legal
limits. ✓
C. Justice – resources must be distributed fairly among all patients.
D. Fidelity – the nurse must always tell the truth to the family.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: Confidentiality protects a patient's private health information. Most
states recognize a minor's right to consent to and receive confidential prenatal care. Beneficence,
justice, and fidelity do not override the minor's right to confidentiality in this context.
Q3. A nurse is obtaining informed consent for an amniocentesis. The patient says, 'I'm not sure I
understand what this involves.' What is the nurse's priority action?
A. Proceed with consent because the physician already explained the procedure.
B. Document that the patient refused the procedure.
C. Notify the physician that the patient requires further explanation before signing.
✓
D. Ask the patient's partner to sign the consent form.
Correct Answer: C | Rationale: Informed consent requires that the patient understands the
procedure, risks, benefits, and alternatives. The nurse's role is to identify knowledge gaps and notify the
provider for further teaching. Proceeding without understanding or substituting the partner's signature
violates informed consent principles.
Q4. Which of the following is a current trend in maternal-child healthcare as of 2026?
, A. Longer routine hospital stays for uncomplicated vaginal deliveries (5–7 days).
B. Expansion of community-based and home-visiting maternal health programs. ✓
C. Restriction of midwife-led care to reduce malpractice liability.
D. Elimination of telehealth services for prenatal follow-up.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: A major 2026 trend is expansion of community-based services, home
visiting, and telehealth to improve access and reduce maternal mortality disparities. Hospital stays for
uncomplicated vaginal births are typically 48 hours; midwife-led care and telehealth have expanded,
not contracted.
Q5. A Somali patient refuses a vaginal examination by a male obstetrician. The culturally safe
nursing response is to:
A. Explain that the male physician is the most qualified and proceed.
B. Document patient non-compliance and reschedule the appointment.
C. Advocate for a female provider or a chaperone arrangement that respects the
patient's cultural values. ✓
D. Perform the vaginal examination yourself without physician presence.
Correct Answer: C | Rationale: Cultural safety requires acknowledging and accommodating
patients' cultural and religious values. Advocating for a female provider or an acceptable chaperone
arrangement respects the patient's dignity. Overriding her refusal or labeling her non-compliant is
culturally unsafe and legally problematic.
Q6. Which Healthy People 2030 goal is directly relevant to maternal-child nursing practice?
A. Reduce the incidence of workplace injuries among healthcare workers.
B. Reduce maternal mortality and improve preconception health. ✓
C. Increase the number of hospital beds in rural areas.
D. Expand insurance coverage for dental procedures.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: Healthy People 2030 specifically targets reducing maternal
mortality, improving preconception health, and eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in maternal
outcomes. The other options are not primary maternal-child nursing goals within this framework.
Q7. A nurse documents that a patient delivered 'precipitously at home before EMS arrival.'
Which legal record-keeping principle is MOST important?
A. Record only what was witnessed by a licensed provider.
B. Entries should be timely, accurate, objective, and complete. ✓
C. Omit details that could expose the hospital to liability.
D. Use correction fluid to fix errors in the paper chart.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: Legal documentation must be timely, accurate, objective, factual, and
complete. Omitting information or using correction fluid are legally and ethically improper;
documentation of events reported by EMS is appropriate when clearly attributed.
, Q8. A nurse is caring for a patient whose cultural background includes a belief that discussing
birth complications will cause them to occur. The nurse should:
A. Insist on providing full risk information regardless of patient discomfort.
B. Omit all risk information to avoid distressing the patient.
C. Use a culturally sensitive approach that balances the ethical duty to inform with
respect for cultural beliefs, involving an interpreter as needed. ✓
D. Delegate cultural concerns to the social worker exclusively.
Correct Answer: C | Rationale: Culturally competent care balances the ethical obligation to provide
informed consent with sensitivity to cultural beliefs. Engaging a professional interpreter and framing
information respectfully honors both ethics and culture. Omitting all risk information violates informed
consent.
Q9. Which statement about the nurse's role in ethical decision-making in maternal-child
nursing is CORRECT?
A. The nurse's role is limited to carrying out physician orders without ethical input.
B. Nurses serve as patient advocates and bring ethical concerns to the
interdisciplinary team. ✓
C. Ethical dilemmas in obstetrics are resolved exclusively by hospital ethics committees.
D. Cultural and personal values should never influence ethical decisions.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: Nurses are frontline patient advocates and have a professional and
ethical obligation to voice concerns and participate in interdisciplinary ethical decision-making. Ethics
committees consult but do not exclusively resolve all dilemmas; cultural context is always relevant.
Q10. A nurse is teaching a community group about the leading cause of preventable maternal
mortality in the United States. Which condition should the nurse emphasize?
A. Gestational diabetes mellitus.
B. Cardiovascular disease and hemorrhage. ✓
C. Urinary tract infections during pregnancy.
D. Hyperemesis gravidarum.
Correct Answer: B | Rationale: Cardiovascular conditions and obstetric hemorrhage are among the
leading causes of preventable maternal mortality in the U.S. per CDC reports. Gestational diabetes, UTIs,
and hyperemesis gravidarum contribute to morbidity but not as the top causes of maternal death.
Q11. A nurse working in a low-income prenatal clinic notices racial disparities in access to
prenatal care. The principle of ________ compels the nurse to advocate for equitable resource
distribution.
A. Autonomy
B. Nonmaleficence
C. Justice ✓
D. Veracity
