Maternity and Women's Health Nursing –
Newborn Practice Questions with Correct
Answers
Staying with her after bringing the infant to help her verbalize her feelings. - Answer A health care
provider tells a mother that her newborn has multiple visible birth defects. The mother seems
composed and asks to see her baby. What nursing action will be most helpful in easing the mother's
stress when she sees her child for the first time?
By asking her to describe her concerns more fully - Answer A new mother with class II heart disease tells
a nurse that she is afraid that her heart condition will prevent her from caring for her baby and her
home when she is discharged. How should the nurse respond?
Remove secretions from the pharynx - Answer During the second reactive period a newborn becomes
more alert and responsive and there is an increase in mucus production and gagging. What should the
nurse do first?
Testing heel blood with the use of a glucose-oxidase strip - Answer How should a nurse screen the
newborn of a diabetic mother for hypoglycemia?
"The swelling and discharge are expected. They're a response to your hormones." - Answer A mother is
inspecting her newborn girl for the first time. The infant's breasts are edematous, and she has a pink
vaginal discharge. How should the nurse respond when the mother asks what is wrong?
Help the parents stimulate their awake baby through touch, sound, and sight - Answer What should the
nurse do to enhance a neonate's behavioral development?
"Newborns are deficient in vitamin K. This treatment will protect your baby from bleeding." - Answer
After the birth of her daughter, a mother tells the nurse, "I was told that my baby has to have an
injection of vitamin K. She's so small to be getting a shot. Why does she have to have it?" How should
the nurse respond?
Bulging fontanels - Answer An infant has surgery for repair of a myelomeningocele. For which early sign
of impending hydrocephalus should the nurse monitor the infant?
, Suctioning the airway - Answer During a vertex vaginal birth the nurse notes meconium-stained amniotic
fluid. What is the priority nursing intervention for the newborn?
Documenting the heart rate - Answer A nurse determines that a 1-day-old newborn has a heart rate of
138 beats/min. What is the best nursing action at this time?
"This often happens as the baby's head moves down the birth canal—the bones move for easier
passage." - Answer A new mother exclaims to the nurse, "My baby looks like a Conehead!" How should
the nurse respond?
Voids six or more times a day - Answer The nurse assures a breastfeeding mother that one way she will
know that her infant is getting an adequate supply of breast milk is if the infant gains weight. What
behavior does the infant exhibit if an adequate amount of milk is being ingested?
Lack the subcutaneous fat that usually provides insulation - Answer A parent of a preterm infant in the
neonatal intensive care unit, asks a nurse why the baby is in a bed with a radiant warmer. The nurse
explains that preterm infants are at increased risk for hypothermia because they:
It can be acquired during a vaginal birth. - Answer A nurse in the newborn nursery receives a call from
the emergency department saying that a woman with active herpes virus lesions gave birth in a taxicab
while coming to the hospital. What does the nurse consider about the transmission of the herpes virus?
Jaundice that develops in the first 12 to 24 hours - Answer A nurse is assessing a newborn for signs of
hyperbilirubinemia (pathological jaundice). What clinical finding confirms this complication?
Color - Answer A nurse assesses a healthy 8-lb 8-oz (3860-gm) newborn who was given Apgar scores of 9
at 1 minute and 10 at 5 minutes. Which category of the Apgar score received a 1 rating at one minute?
A demonstration and explanation of infant care - Answer A nurse decides on a teaching plan for a new
mother and her infant. What should the plan include?
"Infants' feet appear flat because the arch is covered with a fat pad." - Answer While inspecting her
newborn a mother asks the nurse whether her baby has flat feet. How should the nurse respond?
Newborn Practice Questions with Correct
Answers
Staying with her after bringing the infant to help her verbalize her feelings. - Answer A health care
provider tells a mother that her newborn has multiple visible birth defects. The mother seems
composed and asks to see her baby. What nursing action will be most helpful in easing the mother's
stress when she sees her child for the first time?
By asking her to describe her concerns more fully - Answer A new mother with class II heart disease tells
a nurse that she is afraid that her heart condition will prevent her from caring for her baby and her
home when she is discharged. How should the nurse respond?
Remove secretions from the pharynx - Answer During the second reactive period a newborn becomes
more alert and responsive and there is an increase in mucus production and gagging. What should the
nurse do first?
Testing heel blood with the use of a glucose-oxidase strip - Answer How should a nurse screen the
newborn of a diabetic mother for hypoglycemia?
"The swelling and discharge are expected. They're a response to your hormones." - Answer A mother is
inspecting her newborn girl for the first time. The infant's breasts are edematous, and she has a pink
vaginal discharge. How should the nurse respond when the mother asks what is wrong?
Help the parents stimulate their awake baby through touch, sound, and sight - Answer What should the
nurse do to enhance a neonate's behavioral development?
"Newborns are deficient in vitamin K. This treatment will protect your baby from bleeding." - Answer
After the birth of her daughter, a mother tells the nurse, "I was told that my baby has to have an
injection of vitamin K. She's so small to be getting a shot. Why does she have to have it?" How should
the nurse respond?
Bulging fontanels - Answer An infant has surgery for repair of a myelomeningocele. For which early sign
of impending hydrocephalus should the nurse monitor the infant?
, Suctioning the airway - Answer During a vertex vaginal birth the nurse notes meconium-stained amniotic
fluid. What is the priority nursing intervention for the newborn?
Documenting the heart rate - Answer A nurse determines that a 1-day-old newborn has a heart rate of
138 beats/min. What is the best nursing action at this time?
"This often happens as the baby's head moves down the birth canal—the bones move for easier
passage." - Answer A new mother exclaims to the nurse, "My baby looks like a Conehead!" How should
the nurse respond?
Voids six or more times a day - Answer The nurse assures a breastfeeding mother that one way she will
know that her infant is getting an adequate supply of breast milk is if the infant gains weight. What
behavior does the infant exhibit if an adequate amount of milk is being ingested?
Lack the subcutaneous fat that usually provides insulation - Answer A parent of a preterm infant in the
neonatal intensive care unit, asks a nurse why the baby is in a bed with a radiant warmer. The nurse
explains that preterm infants are at increased risk for hypothermia because they:
It can be acquired during a vaginal birth. - Answer A nurse in the newborn nursery receives a call from
the emergency department saying that a woman with active herpes virus lesions gave birth in a taxicab
while coming to the hospital. What does the nurse consider about the transmission of the herpes virus?
Jaundice that develops in the first 12 to 24 hours - Answer A nurse is assessing a newborn for signs of
hyperbilirubinemia (pathological jaundice). What clinical finding confirms this complication?
Color - Answer A nurse assesses a healthy 8-lb 8-oz (3860-gm) newborn who was given Apgar scores of 9
at 1 minute and 10 at 5 minutes. Which category of the Apgar score received a 1 rating at one minute?
A demonstration and explanation of infant care - Answer A nurse decides on a teaching plan for a new
mother and her infant. What should the plan include?
"Infants' feet appear flat because the arch is covered with a fat pad." - Answer While inspecting her
newborn a mother asks the nurse whether her baby has flat feet. How should the nurse respond?
