Mother and child nursing

• The male sperm contributes an X or a Y chromosome; the female ovum contributes an X chromosome.
• Fertilization produces a total of 46 chromosomes, including an XY combination (male) or an XX combination (female).
• Organogenesis occurs during the first trimester of pregnancy, specifically, days 14 to 56 of gestation.
• Implantation in the uterus occurs 6 to 10 days after ovum fertilization.
• The chorion is the outermost extraembryonic membrane that gives rise to the placenta.
• The corpus luteum secretes large quantities of progesterone.
• From the 8th week of gestation through delivery, the developing cells are known as a fetus.
• The union of a male and a female gamete produces a zygote, which divides into the fertilized ovum.
• Spermatozoa (or their fragments) remain in the vagina for 72 hours after sexual intercourse.
• If the ovum is fertilized by a spermatozoon carrying a Y chromosome, a male zygote is formed.
• Implantation occurs when the cellular walls of the blastocyte implants itself in the endometrium, usually 7 to 9 days after fertilization.
• Heart development in the embryo begins at 2 to 4 weeks and is complete by the end of the embryonic stage.
• If a patient misses a menstrual period while taking an oral contraceptive exactly as prescribed, she should continue taking the contraceptive.
• The first menstrual flow is called menarche and may be anovulatory (infertile).
• When both breasts are used for breastfeeding, the infant usually doesn’t empty the second breast; therefore, the second breast should be used first at the next feeding.
• Stress, dehydration, and fatigue may reduce a breastfeeding mother’s milk supply.
• To help a mother break the suction of her breastfeeding infant, the nurse should teach her to insert a finger at the corner of the infant’s mouth.
• Cow’s milk shouldn’t be given to infants younger than age one (1) because it has a low linoleic acid content and its protein is difficult for infants to digest.
• A woman who is breastfeeding should rub a mild emollient cream or a few drops of breast milk (or colostrum) on the nipples after each feeding.
• In a pregnant patient, preeclampsia may progress to eclampsia, which is characterized by seizures and may lead to coma.
• Nursing interventions for a patient with placenta previa include positioning the patient on her left side for maximum fetal perfusion, monitoring fetal heart tones, and administering I.V. fluids and oxygen, as ordered.
• After administering magnesium sulfate to a pregnant patient for hypertension or preterm labor, the nurse should monitor the respiratory rate and deep tendon reflexes.
• HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets) syndrome is an unusual variation of pregnancy-induced hypertension.</flashcard
• The hormone relaxin, which is secreted first by the corpus luteum and later by the placenta, relaxes the connective tissue and cartilage of the symphysis pubis and the sacroiliac joint to facilitate passage of the fetus during delivery.
• The vaccine can be administered after delivery, but the patient should be instructed to avoid becoming pregnant for 3 months.
• Abruptio placentae may be partial or complete, and usually causes abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding, and a boardlike abdomen.
• In a patient with preeclampsia, epigastric pain is a late symptom and requires immediate medical intervention.
• Any condition that interrupts normal blood flow to or from the placenta increases fetal partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide and decreases fetal pH.
• A nonstress test is considered nonreactive (positive) if fewer than two fetal heart rate accelerations of at least 15 beats/minute occur in 20 minutes.
• A rubella vaccine shouldn’t be given to a pregnant woman.
• The classic triad of symptoms of preeclampsia are hypertension, edema, and proteinuria.
• Abruptio placentae is premature separation of a normally implanted placenta.
• Placenta previa is abnormally low implantation of the placenta so that it encroaches on or covers the cervical os.
• In partial (incomplete or marginal) placenta previa, the placenta covers only a portion of the cervical os.
• Abruptio placentae causes pain, whereas placenta previa causes painless bleeding.
• Treatment for abruptio placentae is usually immediate cesarean delivery.
• Additional symptoms of severe preeclampsia include hyperreflexia, cerebral and vision disturbances, and epigastric pain.
• Eclampsia is the occurrence of seizures that aren’t caused by a cerebral disorder in a patient who has pregnancy-induced hypertension.
• In placenta previa, bleeding is painless and seldom fatal on the first occasion, but it becomes heavier with each subsequent episode.
• A nonstress test is considered reactive (negative) if two or more fetal heart rate accelerations of 15 beats/minute above baseline occur in 20 minutes.