Nursing 317: Maternal Adaptation During
Pregnancy (NCLEX Questions and Review)
attached with solutions 2025/2026 version
The nurse is assessing a pregnant client at her 20-week visit. Which breast assessment should the nurse
anticipate documenting?
-Slack, soft breast tissue
-Deeply fissured nipples
-Enlarged lymph nodes
-Darkened breast areolae - Answer -Darkened breast areolae
A pregnant woman tells the nurse she often has allergic responses to drugs. She is concerned that she
will be allergic to her fetus or her body will reject the pregnancy. The nurse's reply would be based on
which statement?
-Immunologic activity is decreased during pregnancy.
-The level of aldosterone during pregnancy reduces production of IgG antibodies.
-The decreased corticosteroid activity during pregnancy ensures this will not happen.
-The kidneys release a hormone during pregnancy to prevent this from happening. - Answer -
Immunologic activity is decreased during pregnancy.
It is unproven why women do not reject fetal (foreign) tissue, but a substance secreted by the placenta
is thought to decrease the usual immunologic response and prevent this from happening.
A new mother asks the postpartum nurse if her baby is getting enough nourishment from breast-feeding
within the first 24 hours following birth. The nurse would provide her what information?
-The mother needs to supplement breast-feedings with formula until her milk comes in. -Breast milk
comes in within 12 hours after delivery and nourishment should not be a problem.
-Most infants need minimal nourishment for the first 24 hours, so the mother should not be concerned.
, -Colostrum, which is the first milk produced, is rich in calories and protein that nourishes the infant well.
- Answer -Colostrum, which is the first milk produced, is rich in calories and protein that nourishes the
infant well.
Colostrum is present prior to delivery and provides the infant with adequate nutrition for the first 3 days
of life, at which time the mother's actual milk should come in. Formula is not recommended. Infants
need nutrition shortly after birth to keep their blood glucose normal.
Amanda's menstrual period is two weeks late. She has been feeling tired and has had bouts of nausea in
the morning. What classification of pregnancy symptoms is Amanda experiencing?
-Positive
-Presumptive
-Probable
-No classification - Answer -Presumptive
The most common presumptive sign of pregnancy is a missed menstrual period, or amenorrhea. Other
presumptive signs include nausea, fatigue, swollen, tender breasts, and frequent urination.
A woman in a prenatal clinic tells the nurse that her pregnancy was unplanned and unwanted. At what
point in pregnancy does the average woman change her mind about an unwanted pregnancy?
-Around the third month
-When quickening occurs
-After lightening happens
-After the seventh month - Answer -When quickening occurs
Quickening, or feeling the baby move inside the body, is such a dramatic event that it can cause a
woman's perceptions about the pregnancy to change.
What is Quickening? - Answer -Fetal movements felt by the mother
Before becoming pregnant, a woman's heart rate averaged 72 beats per minute. The woman is now 15
weeks pregnant. The nurse would expect this woman's heart rate to be approximately:
-85 beats per minute.
-90 beats per minute.
Pregnancy (NCLEX Questions and Review)
attached with solutions 2025/2026 version
The nurse is assessing a pregnant client at her 20-week visit. Which breast assessment should the nurse
anticipate documenting?
-Slack, soft breast tissue
-Deeply fissured nipples
-Enlarged lymph nodes
-Darkened breast areolae - Answer -Darkened breast areolae
A pregnant woman tells the nurse she often has allergic responses to drugs. She is concerned that she
will be allergic to her fetus or her body will reject the pregnancy. The nurse's reply would be based on
which statement?
-Immunologic activity is decreased during pregnancy.
-The level of aldosterone during pregnancy reduces production of IgG antibodies.
-The decreased corticosteroid activity during pregnancy ensures this will not happen.
-The kidneys release a hormone during pregnancy to prevent this from happening. - Answer -
Immunologic activity is decreased during pregnancy.
It is unproven why women do not reject fetal (foreign) tissue, but a substance secreted by the placenta
is thought to decrease the usual immunologic response and prevent this from happening.
A new mother asks the postpartum nurse if her baby is getting enough nourishment from breast-feeding
within the first 24 hours following birth. The nurse would provide her what information?
-The mother needs to supplement breast-feedings with formula until her milk comes in. -Breast milk
comes in within 12 hours after delivery and nourishment should not be a problem.
-Most infants need minimal nourishment for the first 24 hours, so the mother should not be concerned.
, -Colostrum, which is the first milk produced, is rich in calories and protein that nourishes the infant well.
- Answer -Colostrum, which is the first milk produced, is rich in calories and protein that nourishes the
infant well.
Colostrum is present prior to delivery and provides the infant with adequate nutrition for the first 3 days
of life, at which time the mother's actual milk should come in. Formula is not recommended. Infants
need nutrition shortly after birth to keep their blood glucose normal.
Amanda's menstrual period is two weeks late. She has been feeling tired and has had bouts of nausea in
the morning. What classification of pregnancy symptoms is Amanda experiencing?
-Positive
-Presumptive
-Probable
-No classification - Answer -Presumptive
The most common presumptive sign of pregnancy is a missed menstrual period, or amenorrhea. Other
presumptive signs include nausea, fatigue, swollen, tender breasts, and frequent urination.
A woman in a prenatal clinic tells the nurse that her pregnancy was unplanned and unwanted. At what
point in pregnancy does the average woman change her mind about an unwanted pregnancy?
-Around the third month
-When quickening occurs
-After lightening happens
-After the seventh month - Answer -When quickening occurs
Quickening, or feeling the baby move inside the body, is such a dramatic event that it can cause a
woman's perceptions about the pregnancy to change.
What is Quickening? - Answer -Fetal movements felt by the mother
Before becoming pregnant, a woman's heart rate averaged 72 beats per minute. The woman is now 15
weeks pregnant. The nurse would expect this woman's heart rate to be approximately:
-85 beats per minute.
-90 beats per minute.
