©Jason McConnel 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
OB-Newborn-NCLEX Practice Questions
With Correct Answers A+
A nurse is assessing a newborn infant following circumcision and notes that the circumcised area
is red with a small amount of bloody drainage. Which of the following nursing actions would be
most appropriate?
1. Document the findings
2. Contact the physician
3. Circle the amount of bloody drainage on the dressing and reassess in 30 minutes
4. Reinforce the dressing - Answer✔1. Document the findings - The penis is normally red during
the healing process. A yellow exudate may be noted in 24 hours, and this is a part of normal
healing. The nurse would expect that the area would be red with a small amount of bloody
drainage. If the bleeding is excessive, the nurse would apply gentle pressure with sterile gauze. If
bleeding is not controlled, then the blood vessel may need to be ligated, and the nurse would
contact the physician. Because the findings identified in the question are normal, the nurse would
document the assessment.
A nurse in a delivery room is assisting with the delivery of a newborn infant. After the delivery,
the nurse prepares to prevent heat loss in the newborn resulting from evaporation by:
1. Warming the crib pad
2. Turning on the overhead radiant warmer
3. Closing the doors to the room
4. Drying the infant in a warm blanket - Answer✔4. Drying the infant in a warm blanket -
Evaporation of moisture from a wet body dissipates heat along with the moisture. Keeping the
newborn dry by drying the wet newborn infant will prevent hypothermia via evaporation.
A nurse in the newborn nursery is monitoring a preterm newborn infant for respiratory distress
syndrome. Which assessment signs if noted in the newborn infant would alert the nurse to the
possibility of this syndrome?
1. Hypotension and Bradycardia
2. Tachypnea and retractions
3. Acrocyanosis and grunting
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, ©Jason McConnel 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
4. The presence of a barrel chest with grunting - Answer✔2. Tachypnea and retractions - The
infant with respiratory distress syndrome may present with signs of cyanosis, tachypnea or
apnea, nasal flaring, chest wall retractions, or audible grunts.
A nurse in a newborn nursery is performing an assessment of a newborn infant. The nurse is
preparing to measure the head circumference of the infant. The nurse would most appropriately:
1. Wrap the tape measure around the infant's head and measure just above the eyebrows.
2. Place the tape measure under the infants head at the base of the skull and wrap around to the
front just above the eyes
3. Place the tape measure under the infants head, wrap around the occiput, and measure just
above the eyes
4. Place the tape measure at the back of the infant's head, wrap around across the ears, and
measure across the infant's mouth. - Answer✔3. To measure the head circumference, the nurse
should place the tape measure under the infant's head, wrap the tape around the occiput, and
measure just above the eyebrows so that the largest area of the occiput is included.
A postpartum nurse is providing instructions to the mother of a newborn infant with
hyperbilirubinemia who is being breastfed. The nurse provides which most appropriate
instructions to the mother?
1. Switch to bottle feeding the baby for 2 weeks
2. Stop the breast feedings and switch to bottle-feeding permanently
3. Feed the newborn infant less frequently
4. Continue to breast-feed every 2-4 hours - Answer✔4. Continue to breast-feed every 2-4 hours
- Breast feeding should be initiated within 2 hours after birth and every 2-4 hours thereafter. The
other options are not necessary.
A nurse on the newborn nursery floor is caring for a neonate. On assessment the infant is
exhibiting signs of cyanosis, tachypnea, nasal flaring, and grunting. Respiratory distress
syndrome is diagnosed, and the physician prescribes surfactant replacement therapy. The nurse
would prepare to administer this therapy by:
1. Subcutaneous injection
2. Intravenous injection
3. Instillation of the preparation into the lungs through an endotracheal tube
4. Intramuscular injection - Answer✔3. The aim of therapy in RDS is to support the disease until
the disease runs its course with the subsequent development of surfactant. The infant may benefit
from surfactant replacement therapy. In surfactant replacement, an exogenous surfactant
preparation is instilled into the lungs through an endotracheal tube.
A nurse is assessing a newborn infant who was born to a mother who is addicted to drugs. Which
of the following assessment findings would the nurse expect to note during the assessment of this
newborn?
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OB-Newborn-NCLEX Practice Questions
With Correct Answers A+
A nurse is assessing a newborn infant following circumcision and notes that the circumcised area
is red with a small amount of bloody drainage. Which of the following nursing actions would be
most appropriate?
1. Document the findings
2. Contact the physician
3. Circle the amount of bloody drainage on the dressing and reassess in 30 minutes
4. Reinforce the dressing - Answer✔1. Document the findings - The penis is normally red during
the healing process. A yellow exudate may be noted in 24 hours, and this is a part of normal
healing. The nurse would expect that the area would be red with a small amount of bloody
drainage. If the bleeding is excessive, the nurse would apply gentle pressure with sterile gauze. If
bleeding is not controlled, then the blood vessel may need to be ligated, and the nurse would
contact the physician. Because the findings identified in the question are normal, the nurse would
document the assessment.
A nurse in a delivery room is assisting with the delivery of a newborn infant. After the delivery,
the nurse prepares to prevent heat loss in the newborn resulting from evaporation by:
1. Warming the crib pad
2. Turning on the overhead radiant warmer
3. Closing the doors to the room
4. Drying the infant in a warm blanket - Answer✔4. Drying the infant in a warm blanket -
Evaporation of moisture from a wet body dissipates heat along with the moisture. Keeping the
newborn dry by drying the wet newborn infant will prevent hypothermia via evaporation.
A nurse in the newborn nursery is monitoring a preterm newborn infant for respiratory distress
syndrome. Which assessment signs if noted in the newborn infant would alert the nurse to the
possibility of this syndrome?
1. Hypotension and Bradycardia
2. Tachypnea and retractions
3. Acrocyanosis and grunting
1|Page
, ©Jason McConnel 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
4. The presence of a barrel chest with grunting - Answer✔2. Tachypnea and retractions - The
infant with respiratory distress syndrome may present with signs of cyanosis, tachypnea or
apnea, nasal flaring, chest wall retractions, or audible grunts.
A nurse in a newborn nursery is performing an assessment of a newborn infant. The nurse is
preparing to measure the head circumference of the infant. The nurse would most appropriately:
1. Wrap the tape measure around the infant's head and measure just above the eyebrows.
2. Place the tape measure under the infants head at the base of the skull and wrap around to the
front just above the eyes
3. Place the tape measure under the infants head, wrap around the occiput, and measure just
above the eyes
4. Place the tape measure at the back of the infant's head, wrap around across the ears, and
measure across the infant's mouth. - Answer✔3. To measure the head circumference, the nurse
should place the tape measure under the infant's head, wrap the tape around the occiput, and
measure just above the eyebrows so that the largest area of the occiput is included.
A postpartum nurse is providing instructions to the mother of a newborn infant with
hyperbilirubinemia who is being breastfed. The nurse provides which most appropriate
instructions to the mother?
1. Switch to bottle feeding the baby for 2 weeks
2. Stop the breast feedings and switch to bottle-feeding permanently
3. Feed the newborn infant less frequently
4. Continue to breast-feed every 2-4 hours - Answer✔4. Continue to breast-feed every 2-4 hours
- Breast feeding should be initiated within 2 hours after birth and every 2-4 hours thereafter. The
other options are not necessary.
A nurse on the newborn nursery floor is caring for a neonate. On assessment the infant is
exhibiting signs of cyanosis, tachypnea, nasal flaring, and grunting. Respiratory distress
syndrome is diagnosed, and the physician prescribes surfactant replacement therapy. The nurse
would prepare to administer this therapy by:
1. Subcutaneous injection
2. Intravenous injection
3. Instillation of the preparation into the lungs through an endotracheal tube
4. Intramuscular injection - Answer✔3. The aim of therapy in RDS is to support the disease until
the disease runs its course with the subsequent development of surfactant. The infant may benefit
from surfactant replacement therapy. In surfactant replacement, an exogenous surfactant
preparation is instilled into the lungs through an endotracheal tube.
A nurse is assessing a newborn infant who was born to a mother who is addicted to drugs. Which
of the following assessment findings would the nurse expect to note during the assessment of this
newborn?
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