Chapter 32: Pretest
Your patient is 39 weeks pregnant and complaining of contractions that are 2 minutes apart. She tells you that she needs to use the bathroom before transport. You should:
explain that the sensation might indicate that she is close to delivery and you need to check to see whether the baby's head is in the birth canal.
Obtaining a thorough history from your pregnant patient will:
help you to anticipate possible complications.
Premature babies are at high risk for:
hypothermia
The brownish-yellow or greenish material that can discolor the amniotic fluid is known as:
meconium.
When treating a patient who has been sexually assaulted, you should try to:
provide a same-sex provider to assist the patient.
Your patient is 30 weeks pregnant. She is supine in bed, complaining of dizziness. Your partner reports that the patient is hypotensive. You should suspect:
supine hypotensive syndrome.
Shortly after delivery of the newborn, the mother experiences a return of labor pains. This likely indicates that:
the placenta is preparing to deliver.
If the placenta does not deliver within about 20 minutes after delivery of the newborn, you should:
transport immediately.
In the process of delivering the infant, you notice that the umbilical cord is wrapped around the infant's neck. Which of the following actions is the appropriate FIRST step in managing this situation?
Try to slip the cord over the baby's head.
By what percentage does the maternal blood volume increase by the end of pregnancy?
Up to 48%
Your patient is a 16-year-old girl who is complaining of lower abdominal pain, back pain, and heavy vaginal bleeding. After a primary assessment and receiving parental permission to transport, you place the patient in the ambulance, where you have some privacy. Her vital signs are stable. Which of the following questions is relevant and appropriate to an EMT's history-taking for this patient?
What was the day of your last menstrual period?
Which of the following figures indicates the CORRECT chest compression-to-ventilation ratio for CPR in a newborn?
3:1
You are caring for a 19-year-old female who is complaining of vaginal bleeding. She states that she is not pregnant and is not menstruating. You should:
assess for shock and transport the patient.
Supine hypotensive syndrome occurs as a result of:
compression of the inferior vena cava.
Which of the following is recommended for suctioning the newborn's mouth and nose?
Bulb syringe
If a patient is in labor, what is the MOST reliable indication that delivery will happen imminently?
Bulging perineum
What is the typical duration of pregnancy?
40 weeks
Which of the following questions is LEAST relevant in obtaining an obstetric history of a 25-year-old patient who is 26 weeks pregnant and complaining of back pain?
Are your breasts tender?
You have delivered a 34-week gestation infant who is active and crying. Which of the following actions is the highest priority for this infant?
Drying the infant thoroughly and wrapping him or her in warm blankets, covering the head
You are assisting a woman in the delivery of her infant when you note that a segment of the umbilical cord is sticking out of her birth canal. What is the prehospital treatment of this condition?
Instruct the patient not to push. Place the mother in knee-chest position or elevate the hips with pillows, push the baby's head several inches upward into the birth canal, and cover the exposed cord with wet sterile dressings.
Which of the following is TRUE about a breech delivery?
It is the most common abnormal delivery.
Which of the following is TRUE of an explosive delivery?
There is an increased risk of fetal and maternal trauma.
Which of the following is the MOST common cause of blunt trauma in pregnant patients?
Motor vehicle accidents
As an infant's head emerges during a normal delivery, few secretions are present. As the infant's body is delivered, the infant begins to cry normally. Which of the following statements BEST describes the proper care of the infant's airway?
No intervention is needed for the airway. Clamp and cut the cord, and warm and dry the infant.
Which organ allows exchange of nutrients, wastes, and oxygen between the mother and the developing fetus?
Placenta
Which of the following may indicate the need for neonatal resuscitation?
Preterm delivery
Which of the following interventions is required in a newborn who has spontaneous breathing and a heart rate greater than 100 per minute but who still has cyanotic skin?
Provide blow-by oxygen
Which of the following statements BEST describes the third stage of labor?
The placenta is expelled from the uterus.
Which of the following mechanisms accounts for supine hypotensive syndrome?
The weight of the enlarged uterus and fetus presses on the inferior vena cava, causing inadequate blood return to the heart.
If the ovum implants in the fallopian tubes, the patient is at risk for:
ectopic pregnancy.
