NUR 254 EXAM 2 Study Guide | 2026 Correct Questions And Answers

NUR 254 | Exam 2 Expanded Study Guide | Units 4-5




NUR 254 EXAM 2
Expanded, In-Depth Study Guide
Unit 4: Postpartum and Client Health Issues
Unit 5: Normal and High-Risk Newborn Care


NUR 254 - Concepts of Nursing: The Childbearing and
Course
Child Caring Families

Exam format 50 questions

Unit 4 weight Approximately 24-26 questions

Unit 5 weight Approximately 24-26 questions



How to use this guide: Study the normal findings first, then learn the abnormal findings and the nurse's first
action. Exam questions often ask you to recognize the pattern, identify the priority complication, and choose the
safest first intervention.




Built from the uploaded Galen Unit 4 and Unit 5 lecture materials and the NUR 254 exam blueprint.




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, NUR 254 | Exam 2 Expanded Study Guide | Units 4-5

Contents
 Part I - Exam Strategy and Priority Framework
 Part II - Unit 4: Postpartum Recovery and Assessment
 Part III - Unit 4: Postpartum Nursing Care and Family Adaptation
 Part IV - Unit 4: Postpartum Complications and Discharge Teaching
 Part V - Unit 4: Contraception, STIs, and Reproductive Health
 Part VI - Unit 5: Normal Newborn Transition and Assessment
 Part VII - Unit 5: Newborn Nutrition and Feeding
 Part VIII - Unit 5: High-Risk Newborn
 Part IX - Comparison Tables, Memory Tricks, and Final Cram Review

Course focus: The syllabus divides Exam 2 almost evenly between Unit 4 and Unit 5. Do not spend all your time
on postpartum hemorrhage; newborn transition, thermoregulation, feeding, sepsis, prematurity, and high-risk
conditions carry similar weight.




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, NUR 254 | Exam 2 Expanded Study Guide | Units 4-5

PART I - EXAM STRATEGY AND PRIORITY FRAMEWORK
How maternity and newborn questions are usually built
 First identify whether the finding is expected for the exact postpartum day or newborn age.
 Then decide whether the problem threatens airway, breathing, circulation, temperature, glucose, or neurologic
status.
 Choose the least invasive immediate nursing action when it can safely correct the problem.
 Reassess after the intervention and escalate when the finding remains abnormal or is immediately life-
threatening.

Question pattern What to recognize Typical first move

Massage fundus; assess bladder; call for
Boggy uterus + heavy lochia Uterine atony
help/uterotonics as needed

Notify provider; prepare for repair;
Firm uterus + bright-red bleeding Laceration or trauma
continue hemorrhage assessment

Support airway/oxygenation and notify
Newborn grunting/retractions Respiratory distress
neonatal team

Newborn jitteriness Possible hypoglycemia Check blood glucose promptly

Rewarm and check glucose/respiratory
Cold newborn Cold stress
status

Stop ambulation, do not massage, notify
Unilateral calf pain/swelling DVT
provider

Protect parent and infant; emergency
Hallucinations/delusions postpartum Postpartum psychosis
psychiatric evaluation




Priority rules to memorize
 Airway and breathing beat feeding, teaching, bonding, and routine care.
 Hemorrhage can be present before blood pressure falls. Tachycardia, pallor, anxiety, and increasing bleeding
are early warnings.
 A newborn cannot maintain temperature or glucose as effectively as an adult. Cold stress can rapidly cause
hypoglycemia and respiratory distress.
 Never massage a suspected thrombus.
 Never delay resuscitation to calculate an APGAR score.
 Never circumcise an infant with hypospadias or epispadias unless specifically cleared by the surgical team.
 When a question asks what to do first, select assessment only when the client is stable and more data are
needed. Intervene first when the threat is obvious.

Rapid priority phrase: Boggy = massage. Firm + bleeding = trauma. Jittery = glucose. Grunting = breathing. Cold
= warm. Psychosis = safety.




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