NUR 254 Course Overview
Course Name: Concepts of Nursing: The Childbearing and Child Caring Families
Credit Hours: 5 Quarter Credit Hours [3 theory; 1 lab; 36 clinical]
Prerequisites: BIO 1300; BIO 1350; BSL 101 or NUR 210
The course covers maternal-newborn nursing and pediatric nursing across four exams.
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Exam 1: Antepartum Nursing & Prenatal Care
Key Topics Covered:
- Maternal physiologic and psychological changes during pregnancy
- Nutrition, sleep, activity, and exercise during pregnancy
- Cultural influences on the childbearing period
- Laboratory and diagnostic tests
- Commonly used antepartum maternity medications
- Fetal development and Naegele's rule
- GTPAL (Gravida, Term, Preterm, Abortions, Living)
- Presumptive, probable, and positive signs of pregnancy
Practice Question Example:
, > Q: A client at 12 weeks gestation reports frequent urination. What is the most likely cause?
> A: B. Hormonal changes and increased renal blood flow
> Rationale: During early pregnancy, increased levels of hCG and progesterone, along with
increased renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate, lead to increased urine production
and frequency.
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Exam 2: Postpartum Nursing & Newborn Care
Key Topics Covered:
- Normal postpartum physiology
- Uterine assessment (fundal height, consistency, location)
- BUBBLE-HE assessment (Breasts, Uterus, Bladder, Bowel, Lochia, Episiotomy/perineum,
Homan's sign, Emotional status)
- Lochia progression: rubra → serosa → alba
- Newborn assessment and neonatal adaptations
- APGAR scoring
- Newborn transition periods
- Pain management during labor
Practice Question Example:
> Q: Which uterine assessment finding is expected in a client 12 hours postpartum?
> A: The fundus should be firm, midline, and at the level of the umbilicus
> Rationale: Immediately after delivery, the fundus is firm and located at the umbilicus. It
should remain firm and midline; a boggy or deviated fundus indicates uterine atony or bladder
distension.
Course Name: Concepts of Nursing: The Childbearing and Child Caring Families
Credit Hours: 5 Quarter Credit Hours [3 theory; 1 lab; 36 clinical]
Prerequisites: BIO 1300; BIO 1350; BSL 101 or NUR 210
The course covers maternal-newborn nursing and pediatric nursing across four exams.
---
Exam 1: Antepartum Nursing & Prenatal Care
Key Topics Covered:
- Maternal physiologic and psychological changes during pregnancy
- Nutrition, sleep, activity, and exercise during pregnancy
- Cultural influences on the childbearing period
- Laboratory and diagnostic tests
- Commonly used antepartum maternity medications
- Fetal development and Naegele's rule
- GTPAL (Gravida, Term, Preterm, Abortions, Living)
- Presumptive, probable, and positive signs of pregnancy
Practice Question Example:
, > Q: A client at 12 weeks gestation reports frequent urination. What is the most likely cause?
> A: B. Hormonal changes and increased renal blood flow
> Rationale: During early pregnancy, increased levels of hCG and progesterone, along with
increased renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate, lead to increased urine production
and frequency.
---
Exam 2: Postpartum Nursing & Newborn Care
Key Topics Covered:
- Normal postpartum physiology
- Uterine assessment (fundal height, consistency, location)
- BUBBLE-HE assessment (Breasts, Uterus, Bladder, Bowel, Lochia, Episiotomy/perineum,
Homan's sign, Emotional status)
- Lochia progression: rubra → serosa → alba
- Newborn assessment and neonatal adaptations
- APGAR scoring
- Newborn transition periods
- Pain management during labor
Practice Question Example:
> Q: Which uterine assessment finding is expected in a client 12 hours postpartum?
> A: The fundus should be firm, midline, and at the level of the umbilicus
> Rationale: Immediately after delivery, the fundus is firm and located at the umbilicus. It
should remain firm and midline; a boggy or deviated fundus indicates uterine atony or bladder
distension.
