NURS MATERNAL CHILD NURSING 5TH
EDITION:GIVING BIRTH EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
ANSWERS GRADED A+
To assess the duration of labor contractions, the nurse determines the time
A. from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next.
B. from the beginning to the end of each contraction.
C. of the strongest intensity of each contraction.
D. of uterine relaxation between two contractions.
ANS: B
Duration of labor contractions is the average length of contractions from beginning to end. Assessing
from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next is the frequency. The strongest
intensity of each contraction is the strength or intensity. The interval of the contraction phase is the time
of uterine relaxation between two contractions.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge/Remembering REF: p. 314 OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
MSC: Client Needs: Health Promotion and Maintenance
The nurse teaching a prenatal class explains that which is the best indicator of true labor?
A. Bloody show
B. Cervical dilation and effacement
C. Fetal descent into the pelvic inlet
D. Uterine contractions every 7 minutes
ANS: B
The conclusive distinction between true and false labor is that contractions of true labor cause progressive
change in the cervix. Bloody show can occur before true labor. Fetal descent can occur before true labor.
False labor may have contractions that occur this frequently, but it is usually inconsistent.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension/Understanding REF: p. 298 OBJ: Integrated
Process: Teaching-Learning MSC: Client Needs: Health Promotion and Maintenance
The student nurse learns that which factor ensures that the smallest anterior-posterior diameter of
the fetal head enters the pelvis?
A. Descent
B. Engagement
C. Flexion
D. Station
ANS: C
Flexion of the fetal head allows the smallest head diameters to pass through the pelvis. Descent is the
moving of the fetus through the birth canal. Engagement occurs when the largest diameter of the fetal
presenting part has passed the pelvic inlet. Station is the relationship of the fetal presenting part to
the level of the ischial spines.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge/Remembering REF: p. 299 OBJ: Integrated Process: Teaching-
Learning MSC: Client Needs: Health Promotion and Maintenance
What results from the adaptation of the fetus to the size and shape of the pelvis?
, NURS MATERNAL CHILD NURSING 5TH
EDITION:GIVING BIRTH EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
ANSWERS GRADED A+
A. Lightening
B. Lie
C. Molding
D. Presentation
ANS: C
The sutures and fontanels allow the bones of the fetal head to move slightly, changing the shape of the
fetal head so it can adapt to the size and shape of the pelvis. Lightening is the descent of the fetus toward
the pelvic inlet before labor. Lie is the relationship of the long axis of the fetus to the long axis of the
mother. Presentation is the fetal part that first enters the pelvic inlet.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge/Remembering REF: p. 293 OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
MSC: Client Needs: Physiologic Integrity
The nurse assesses a patient whose cervix is dilated to 5 cm. What phase of labor does the
nurse recognize the woman to be in?
A. Latent phase
B. Active phase
C. Second stage
D. Third stage
ANS: B
The active phase of labor is characterized by cervical dilation of 4 to 6 cm. The latent phase is from the
beginning of true labor until 3 cm of cervical dilation. The second stage of labor begins when the cervix
is completely dilated until the birth of the baby. The third stage of labor is from the birth of the baby until
the expulsion of the placenta.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge/Remembering REF: p. 299 OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
MSC: Client Needs: Health Promotion and Maintenance
To teach and support the woman in labor, the nurse explains that the strongest part of a
labor contraction is the
A. increment.
B. acme.
C. decrement.
D. interval.
ANS: B
The acme is the peak or period of greatest strength during the middle of a contraction cycle. The
increment is the beginning of the contractions until it reaches the peak. The decrement occurs after the
peak until the contraction ends. The interval is the period between the end of the contraction and the
beginning of the next.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension/Understanding REF: p. 289 OBJ: Integrated
Process: Teaching-Learning MSC: Client Needs: Health Promotion and Maintenance
What assessment finding does the nurse expect in a woman with cervical dilation and effacement?
A. Bloody show
B. False labor
C. Lightening
EDITION:GIVING BIRTH EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
ANSWERS GRADED A+
To assess the duration of labor contractions, the nurse determines the time
A. from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next.
B. from the beginning to the end of each contraction.
C. of the strongest intensity of each contraction.
D. of uterine relaxation between two contractions.
ANS: B
Duration of labor contractions is the average length of contractions from beginning to end. Assessing
from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next is the frequency. The strongest
intensity of each contraction is the strength or intensity. The interval of the contraction phase is the time
of uterine relaxation between two contractions.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge/Remembering REF: p. 314 OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
MSC: Client Needs: Health Promotion and Maintenance
The nurse teaching a prenatal class explains that which is the best indicator of true labor?
A. Bloody show
B. Cervical dilation and effacement
C. Fetal descent into the pelvic inlet
D. Uterine contractions every 7 minutes
ANS: B
The conclusive distinction between true and false labor is that contractions of true labor cause progressive
change in the cervix. Bloody show can occur before true labor. Fetal descent can occur before true labor.
False labor may have contractions that occur this frequently, but it is usually inconsistent.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension/Understanding REF: p. 298 OBJ: Integrated
Process: Teaching-Learning MSC: Client Needs: Health Promotion and Maintenance
The student nurse learns that which factor ensures that the smallest anterior-posterior diameter of
the fetal head enters the pelvis?
A. Descent
B. Engagement
C. Flexion
D. Station
ANS: C
Flexion of the fetal head allows the smallest head diameters to pass through the pelvis. Descent is the
moving of the fetus through the birth canal. Engagement occurs when the largest diameter of the fetal
presenting part has passed the pelvic inlet. Station is the relationship of the fetal presenting part to
the level of the ischial spines.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge/Remembering REF: p. 299 OBJ: Integrated Process: Teaching-
Learning MSC: Client Needs: Health Promotion and Maintenance
What results from the adaptation of the fetus to the size and shape of the pelvis?
, NURS MATERNAL CHILD NURSING 5TH
EDITION:GIVING BIRTH EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
ANSWERS GRADED A+
A. Lightening
B. Lie
C. Molding
D. Presentation
ANS: C
The sutures and fontanels allow the bones of the fetal head to move slightly, changing the shape of the
fetal head so it can adapt to the size and shape of the pelvis. Lightening is the descent of the fetus toward
the pelvic inlet before labor. Lie is the relationship of the long axis of the fetus to the long axis of the
mother. Presentation is the fetal part that first enters the pelvic inlet.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge/Remembering REF: p. 293 OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
MSC: Client Needs: Physiologic Integrity
The nurse assesses a patient whose cervix is dilated to 5 cm. What phase of labor does the
nurse recognize the woman to be in?
A. Latent phase
B. Active phase
C. Second stage
D. Third stage
ANS: B
The active phase of labor is characterized by cervical dilation of 4 to 6 cm. The latent phase is from the
beginning of true labor until 3 cm of cervical dilation. The second stage of labor begins when the cervix
is completely dilated until the birth of the baby. The third stage of labor is from the birth of the baby until
the expulsion of the placenta.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Knowledge/Remembering REF: p. 299 OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
MSC: Client Needs: Health Promotion and Maintenance
To teach and support the woman in labor, the nurse explains that the strongest part of a
labor contraction is the
A. increment.
B. acme.
C. decrement.
D. interval.
ANS: B
The acme is the peak or period of greatest strength during the middle of a contraction cycle. The
increment is the beginning of the contractions until it reaches the peak. The decrement occurs after the
peak until the contraction ends. The interval is the period between the end of the contraction and the
beginning of the next.
PTS: 1 DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension/Understanding REF: p. 289 OBJ: Integrated
Process: Teaching-Learning MSC: Client Needs: Health Promotion and Maintenance
What assessment finding does the nurse expect in a woman with cervical dilation and effacement?
A. Bloody show
B. False labor
C. Lightening
