RN HESI MATERNITY COMPLETE STUDY
GUIDE WITH QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
2026
▶ While caring for a laboring client on continuous fetal monitoring, the
nurse notes a fetal heart rate pattern that falls and rises abruptly with a "V"
shaped appearance. What action should the nurse take first?
A. Prepare for a potential cesarean
B. Allow the client to begin pushing
C. Administer oxygen at 10/L by mask
D. Change the maternal position Answer: D. Change the maternal position
▶ A postpartum client who is Rh-negative refuses to receive Rho (D)
immune globulin (RhoGam) after delivery of an infant who is Rh-positive.
Which information should the nure provide this client?
A. RhoGam is not necessary unless all her pregnancies are Rh-positive
B. The R-positive factor from the fetus threatens her blood cells
C. The mother should receive RhoGam when the baby is Rh-negative
D. RhoGam prevents maternal antibody formation for future Rh-positive
babies Answer: D. RhoGam prevents maternal antibody formation for
future Rh-positive babies
▶ A 6-week-old infant diagnosed with pyloric stenosis has recently
developed projectile vomiting. Which assessment finding indicates to the
nurse that the infant is becoming dehydrated?
A. Weak cry without any tears
B. Bulging fontanel
C. Visible peristaltic wave.
D. Palpable mass in the right upper quadrant Answer: A. Weak cry without
any tears
▶ A full-term, 24-hour-old infant in the nursery regurgitates and suddenly
turns cyanotic. What should the nurse do first?
A. Suction the oral and nasal passages
B. Give oxygen by positive pressure
,C. Stimulate the infant to cry
D. Turn the infant onto the right side Answer: C. Stimulate the infant to cry
▶ A client at 40-weeks' gestation presents to the obstetrical floor and
indicates that the amniotic membranes ruptured spontaneously at home.
She is in active labor and feels the need to bear down and push. What
information is most important for the nurse to obtain first?
A. the estimated amount of fluid
B. time the membranes ruptured
C. color and consistency of the fluid
D. any odor noted when membranes ruptured. Answer: C. color and
consistency of the fluid
▶ An infant with tetralogy of Fallot becomes acutely cyanotic and hyper
apneic. Which action should the nurse implement first?A. Administer
morphine sulphate.
B. Start IV fluids.
C. Place the infant in a knee-chest position
D. Provide 100% oxygen by face mask. Answer: C. Place the infant in a
knee-chest position
▶ A one-day-old neonate develops a cephalohematoma. The nurse should
closely assess this neonate for which common complication?
A. jaundice
B. poor appetite
C. brain damage
D. hypoglycemia Answer: A. jaundice
▶ The nurse is reviewing the serum laboratory finding for a 5-day-old infant
with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Which laboratory results should be
reported to the healthcare provider immediatly?
A. Bilirubin of 1.5 mg/dl
B. Glucose of 80 mg/dl
C. Potassium of 4.5 mEq/L
D. Sodium of 119 mEq/L Answer: D. Sodium of 119 mEq/L
▶ At 39-weeks gestation, a multigravida is having a non-stress test (NST).
The fetal heart rate (FHR) has remained nonreactive during the 30 minutes
of evaluation. Based on this finding, which action should the nurse
implement?
, A. Initiate an intravenous infusion
B. Observe the FHR pattern for 30 more minutes
C. Schedule a biophysical profile
D. Place an acoustic stimulator on the abdomen Answer: D. Place an
acoustic stimulator on the abdomen
▶ A community health nurse visits a family in which a 16-year-old
unmarried daughter is pregnant with her first child and is at 32-weeks
gestation. The client tells the nurse that she has been having intermittent
back pain since the night before. What is the priority nursing intervention?
A. Ask the clients mother to call an ambulance for transport to the hospital
immediately.
B. Determine what physical activities the client has performed for the past
24 hours
C. Teach the client if she has experienced any recent changes in vaginal
discharge. Answer: C. Teach the client if she has experienced any recent
changes in vaginal discharge.
▶ Albumin 25% IV is prescribed for a child with nephrotic syndrome. Which
assessment finding indicates to the nurse that the medication is having the
desired effect?
A. Weight gain
B. Reduction of fever
C. Improved caloric intake
D. Reduction of edema Answer: D. Reduction of edema
▶ The nurse is conducting postpartum teaching with a mother who is
breastfeeding here infant. When discussing birth control, which method
should the nurse recommend to this client as beneficial for her to use in
preventing an unwanted pregnancy?
A. Breastfeed exclusively at least every 3-4 hours
B. Condoms and contraceptive foam or gel
C. Rhythm method (natural family planning)
D. Combined estrogen progesterone oral contraceptives. Answer: B.
Condoms and contraceptive foam or gel
▶ One day after a vaginal delivery of a full-term baby, a postpartum client's
white blood cell count is 15,000/mm2. What action should the nurse take
first?
A. Check he differential, since the WBC is normal for this client.
GUIDE WITH QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
2026
▶ While caring for a laboring client on continuous fetal monitoring, the
nurse notes a fetal heart rate pattern that falls and rises abruptly with a "V"
shaped appearance. What action should the nurse take first?
A. Prepare for a potential cesarean
B. Allow the client to begin pushing
C. Administer oxygen at 10/L by mask
D. Change the maternal position Answer: D. Change the maternal position
▶ A postpartum client who is Rh-negative refuses to receive Rho (D)
immune globulin (RhoGam) after delivery of an infant who is Rh-positive.
Which information should the nure provide this client?
A. RhoGam is not necessary unless all her pregnancies are Rh-positive
B. The R-positive factor from the fetus threatens her blood cells
C. The mother should receive RhoGam when the baby is Rh-negative
D. RhoGam prevents maternal antibody formation for future Rh-positive
babies Answer: D. RhoGam prevents maternal antibody formation for
future Rh-positive babies
▶ A 6-week-old infant diagnosed with pyloric stenosis has recently
developed projectile vomiting. Which assessment finding indicates to the
nurse that the infant is becoming dehydrated?
A. Weak cry without any tears
B. Bulging fontanel
C. Visible peristaltic wave.
D. Palpable mass in the right upper quadrant Answer: A. Weak cry without
any tears
▶ A full-term, 24-hour-old infant in the nursery regurgitates and suddenly
turns cyanotic. What should the nurse do first?
A. Suction the oral and nasal passages
B. Give oxygen by positive pressure
,C. Stimulate the infant to cry
D. Turn the infant onto the right side Answer: C. Stimulate the infant to cry
▶ A client at 40-weeks' gestation presents to the obstetrical floor and
indicates that the amniotic membranes ruptured spontaneously at home.
She is in active labor and feels the need to bear down and push. What
information is most important for the nurse to obtain first?
A. the estimated amount of fluid
B. time the membranes ruptured
C. color and consistency of the fluid
D. any odor noted when membranes ruptured. Answer: C. color and
consistency of the fluid
▶ An infant with tetralogy of Fallot becomes acutely cyanotic and hyper
apneic. Which action should the nurse implement first?A. Administer
morphine sulphate.
B. Start IV fluids.
C. Place the infant in a knee-chest position
D. Provide 100% oxygen by face mask. Answer: C. Place the infant in a
knee-chest position
▶ A one-day-old neonate develops a cephalohematoma. The nurse should
closely assess this neonate for which common complication?
A. jaundice
B. poor appetite
C. brain damage
D. hypoglycemia Answer: A. jaundice
▶ The nurse is reviewing the serum laboratory finding for a 5-day-old infant
with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Which laboratory results should be
reported to the healthcare provider immediatly?
A. Bilirubin of 1.5 mg/dl
B. Glucose of 80 mg/dl
C. Potassium of 4.5 mEq/L
D. Sodium of 119 mEq/L Answer: D. Sodium of 119 mEq/L
▶ At 39-weeks gestation, a multigravida is having a non-stress test (NST).
The fetal heart rate (FHR) has remained nonreactive during the 30 minutes
of evaluation. Based on this finding, which action should the nurse
implement?
, A. Initiate an intravenous infusion
B. Observe the FHR pattern for 30 more minutes
C. Schedule a biophysical profile
D. Place an acoustic stimulator on the abdomen Answer: D. Place an
acoustic stimulator on the abdomen
▶ A community health nurse visits a family in which a 16-year-old
unmarried daughter is pregnant with her first child and is at 32-weeks
gestation. The client tells the nurse that she has been having intermittent
back pain since the night before. What is the priority nursing intervention?
A. Ask the clients mother to call an ambulance for transport to the hospital
immediately.
B. Determine what physical activities the client has performed for the past
24 hours
C. Teach the client if she has experienced any recent changes in vaginal
discharge. Answer: C. Teach the client if she has experienced any recent
changes in vaginal discharge.
▶ Albumin 25% IV is prescribed for a child with nephrotic syndrome. Which
assessment finding indicates to the nurse that the medication is having the
desired effect?
A. Weight gain
B. Reduction of fever
C. Improved caloric intake
D. Reduction of edema Answer: D. Reduction of edema
▶ The nurse is conducting postpartum teaching with a mother who is
breastfeeding here infant. When discussing birth control, which method
should the nurse recommend to this client as beneficial for her to use in
preventing an unwanted pregnancy?
A. Breastfeed exclusively at least every 3-4 hours
B. Condoms and contraceptive foam or gel
C. Rhythm method (natural family planning)
D. Combined estrogen progesterone oral contraceptives. Answer: B.
Condoms and contraceptive foam or gel
▶ One day after a vaginal delivery of a full-term baby, a postpartum client's
white blood cell count is 15,000/mm2. What action should the nurse take
first?
A. Check he differential, since the WBC is normal for this client.
