Maternity Nursing: Intrapartum Q 4

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A nurse is caring for a client in the second stage of labor. The client is experiencing uterine contractions every 2 minutes and cries out in pain with each contraction. The nurse recognizes this behavior as:

  

     A. Exhaustion

     B. Valsalva’s maneuver

     C. Involuntary grunting

     D. Fear of losing control

    

    

Correct Answer: D. Fear of losing control

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Pains, helplessness, panicking, and fear of losing control are possible behaviors in the 2nd stage of labor. In women who have delivered vaginally previously, whose bodies have acclimated to delivering a fetus, the second stage may only require a brief trial, whereas a longer duration may be required for a nulliparous female.

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Option A: Labour as a life event is characterized by tremendous physiological and psychological changes that require major behavioral adjustments in a short period of time.

Option B: Exercise involving the Valsalva maneuver (holding one’s breath during exertion) because it can cause increased intra-abdominal pressure.

Option C: Labour presents a physical and psychological challenge for women. The latter stages of pregnancy can be a difficult time emotionally. Fear and apprehension are experienced alongside excitement. There are emotions both positive and negative that will affect the woman’s birth experience.

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