nursing

A woman is experiencing considerable postpartum pain from an episiotomy. She reports that her pain is perhaps a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10 and she requests medication. What are you most likely to give her?

Codeine every 6 to 8 hours

A woman presents in advanced labor, and birth appears imminent. What is the most important and appropriate aspect of admission for this woman?

Taking her blood pressure and determining whether clonus or edema is present

You are asked to start external electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) for a primigravida who has been hospitalized because she is showing indications of going into labor. The baseline FHR fluctuates between 135 and 150. You notice two instances in which the FHR reached 165 for 15 to 20 seconds before settling back to the baseline rate. What should you do

Before reporting to the RN, determine the uterine contraction pattern

Mary Ellen presents in the early stage of labor with mild contractions 7 to 9 minutes apart and BP of 130/80 mm/Hg. You start maternal-fetal monitoring and engage her in conversation as a distraction technique. At first she seems happy, excited, and confident, but eventually she becomes introverted and restless. Her pulse is rapid, her blood pressure is now 137/85, and she is hyperventilating. The fetal monitor shows no variability for almost 20 minutes; variability then becomes evident but there are no late decelerations. What do you do?

Help Mary Ellen regain control of her breathing technique

During contractions, the electronic fetal monitor (EFM) shows variable V-shaped decelerations in the FHR lasting about 30 seconds with accelerations of about 5 bpm before and after each deceleration. Overshoot is absent and the baseline FHR is within normal limits. What should you do first?

Help the woman change positions

Joanne has been in labor for 5 hours. Earlier there was a gradual increase in FHR baseline with variables, but Joanne has changed position several times and now the fetus shows no signs of hypoxia. Joanne's cervix is almost completely effaced and is dilated to 8 cm. However, the labor graph indicates that the fetus has stopped descending. What should you do first?

Palpate the area just above the symphysis pubis