Maternal Child Care Nursing 2026/2027 Exam
Question and Correct Answers Already Graded
A+
**Content Areas Covered:**
- **Unit 1: Antepartum Nursing** – Prenatal care, fetal development, maternal adaptations,
prenatal screening, high-risk pregnancy
- **Unit 2: Intrapartum Nursing** – Labor and delivery, fetal monitoring, pain management,
complications of labor
- **Unit 3: Postpartum Nursing** – Maternal physiological and psychological changes,
breastfeeding, postpartum complications
- **Unit 4: Newborn Care** – Neonatal assessment, newborn nutrition, common newborn
conditions, NICU care
- **Unit 5: Pediatric Nursing** – Growth and development, pediatric assessment, common
childhood illnesses, pediatric medication administration
- **Unit 6: Maternal-Child Health Issues** – Family planning, reproductive health, domestic
violence, cultural considerations
---
## UNIT 1: ANTEPARTUM NURSING
**1. A client at 38 weeks' gestation is admitted for a non-stress test (NST). The fetal heart rate
(FHR) is 174 beats per minute. Based on this finding, the nurse should:**
A) Document the finding as normal
B) Notify the provider immediately
C) Administer oxygen to the client
D) Prepare for immediate delivery
**Correct Answer: B) Notify the provider immediately**
,**Rationale:** A normal fetal heart rate is 110-160 beats per minute. A FHR of 174 bpm is
tachycardic and may indicate fetal distress, infection, maternal fever, or maternal dehydration.
The nurse should notify the provider for further evaluation. Tachycardia may also be caused by
maternal hyperthyroidism, fetal anemia, or medications such as atropine or beta-
sympathomimetics.
---
**2. The nurse is assessing a client at 12 weeks' gestation. Which of the following findings
would the nurse expect to observe?**
A) Fundal height at the umbilicus
B) Fundal height at the symphysis pubis
C) Fundal height at the xiphoid process
D) Fundal height at the level of the umbilicus and symphysis pubis midpoint
**Correct Answer: B) Fundal height at the symphysis pubis**
**Rationale:** At 12 weeks' gestation, the fundus is palpable just above the symphysis pubis.
By 20 weeks, the fundus is at the level of the umbilicus. By 36 weeks, the fundus reaches the
xiphoid process. Fundal height measurement is used to assess fetal growth and gestational age;
a discrepancy of more than 2 cm from the expected measurement may indicate intrauterine
growth restriction or polyhydramnios.
---
**3. A pregnant client asks the nurse about the changes she can expect in her cardiovascular
system during pregnancy. Which of the following is a normal physiological adaptation?**
,A) Decreased cardiac output
B) Decreased heart rate
C) Increased blood volume by approximately 40-50%
D) Increased peripheral vascular resistance
**Correct Answer: C) Increased blood volume by approximately 40-50%**
**Rationale:** During pregnancy, blood volume increases by 40-50% to meet the demands of
the growing fetus and placenta. Cardiac output increases by 30-50%, heart rate increases by 10-
15 beats per minute, and peripheral vascular resistance decreases due to vasodilation. These
adaptations support adequate perfusion to the uterus and placenta.
---
**4. The nurse is providing prenatal education to a client at 28 weeks' gestation. The client asks
about signs of preterm labor. Which of the following should the nurse include?**
A) Regular, painful contractions
B) Low back pain and pelvic pressure
C) Vaginal bleeding
D) All of the above
**Correct Answer: D) All of the above**
**Rationale:** Signs of preterm labor include regular, painful contractions (with or without
pain), low back pain, pelvic pressure, vaginal bleeding, change in vaginal discharge (increased or
watery), and a feeling that the baby is "pushing down." Clients should be taught to notify their
provider immediately if these symptoms occur.
, ---
**5. A client at 20 weeks' gestation reports feeling the baby move for the first time. This
sensation is called:**
A) Lightening
B) Ballottement
C) Quickening
D) Chadwick's sign
**Correct Answer: C) Quickening**
**Rationale:** Quickening is the first perception of fetal movement, typically occurring
between 16 and 20 weeks' gestation. Lightening is the descent of the fetal head into the pelvis,
occurring in the last few weeks of pregnancy. Ballottement is a technique used to assess fetal
position. Chadwick's sign is a bluish discoloration of the cervix and vagina due to increased
vascularity, an early sign of pregnancy.
---
**6. The nurse is assessing a client at 10 weeks' gestation who reports nausea, breast
tenderness, and fatigue. These symptoms are most likely due to:**
A) Decreased estrogen levels
B) Increased human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and estrogen levels
C) Decreased progesterone levels
D) Fetal growth restriction
**Correct Answer: B) Increased human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and estrogen levels**
Question and Correct Answers Already Graded
A+
**Content Areas Covered:**
- **Unit 1: Antepartum Nursing** – Prenatal care, fetal development, maternal adaptations,
prenatal screening, high-risk pregnancy
- **Unit 2: Intrapartum Nursing** – Labor and delivery, fetal monitoring, pain management,
complications of labor
- **Unit 3: Postpartum Nursing** – Maternal physiological and psychological changes,
breastfeeding, postpartum complications
- **Unit 4: Newborn Care** – Neonatal assessment, newborn nutrition, common newborn
conditions, NICU care
- **Unit 5: Pediatric Nursing** – Growth and development, pediatric assessment, common
childhood illnesses, pediatric medication administration
- **Unit 6: Maternal-Child Health Issues** – Family planning, reproductive health, domestic
violence, cultural considerations
---
## UNIT 1: ANTEPARTUM NURSING
**1. A client at 38 weeks' gestation is admitted for a non-stress test (NST). The fetal heart rate
(FHR) is 174 beats per minute. Based on this finding, the nurse should:**
A) Document the finding as normal
B) Notify the provider immediately
C) Administer oxygen to the client
D) Prepare for immediate delivery
**Correct Answer: B) Notify the provider immediately**
,**Rationale:** A normal fetal heart rate is 110-160 beats per minute. A FHR of 174 bpm is
tachycardic and may indicate fetal distress, infection, maternal fever, or maternal dehydration.
The nurse should notify the provider for further evaluation. Tachycardia may also be caused by
maternal hyperthyroidism, fetal anemia, or medications such as atropine or beta-
sympathomimetics.
---
**2. The nurse is assessing a client at 12 weeks' gestation. Which of the following findings
would the nurse expect to observe?**
A) Fundal height at the umbilicus
B) Fundal height at the symphysis pubis
C) Fundal height at the xiphoid process
D) Fundal height at the level of the umbilicus and symphysis pubis midpoint
**Correct Answer: B) Fundal height at the symphysis pubis**
**Rationale:** At 12 weeks' gestation, the fundus is palpable just above the symphysis pubis.
By 20 weeks, the fundus is at the level of the umbilicus. By 36 weeks, the fundus reaches the
xiphoid process. Fundal height measurement is used to assess fetal growth and gestational age;
a discrepancy of more than 2 cm from the expected measurement may indicate intrauterine
growth restriction or polyhydramnios.
---
**3. A pregnant client asks the nurse about the changes she can expect in her cardiovascular
system during pregnancy. Which of the following is a normal physiological adaptation?**
,A) Decreased cardiac output
B) Decreased heart rate
C) Increased blood volume by approximately 40-50%
D) Increased peripheral vascular resistance
**Correct Answer: C) Increased blood volume by approximately 40-50%**
**Rationale:** During pregnancy, blood volume increases by 40-50% to meet the demands of
the growing fetus and placenta. Cardiac output increases by 30-50%, heart rate increases by 10-
15 beats per minute, and peripheral vascular resistance decreases due to vasodilation. These
adaptations support adequate perfusion to the uterus and placenta.
---
**4. The nurse is providing prenatal education to a client at 28 weeks' gestation. The client asks
about signs of preterm labor. Which of the following should the nurse include?**
A) Regular, painful contractions
B) Low back pain and pelvic pressure
C) Vaginal bleeding
D) All of the above
**Correct Answer: D) All of the above**
**Rationale:** Signs of preterm labor include regular, painful contractions (with or without
pain), low back pain, pelvic pressure, vaginal bleeding, change in vaginal discharge (increased or
watery), and a feeling that the baby is "pushing down." Clients should be taught to notify their
provider immediately if these symptoms occur.
, ---
**5. A client at 20 weeks' gestation reports feeling the baby move for the first time. This
sensation is called:**
A) Lightening
B) Ballottement
C) Quickening
D) Chadwick's sign
**Correct Answer: C) Quickening**
**Rationale:** Quickening is the first perception of fetal movement, typically occurring
between 16 and 20 weeks' gestation. Lightening is the descent of the fetal head into the pelvis,
occurring in the last few weeks of pregnancy. Ballottement is a technique used to assess fetal
position. Chadwick's sign is a bluish discoloration of the cervix and vagina due to increased
vascularity, an early sign of pregnancy.
---
**6. The nurse is assessing a client at 10 weeks' gestation who reports nausea, breast
tenderness, and fatigue. These symptoms are most likely due to:**
A) Decreased estrogen levels
B) Increased human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and estrogen levels
C) Decreased progesterone levels
D) Fetal growth restriction
**Correct Answer: B) Increased human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and estrogen levels**
