A midwife is monitoring a client with a cervical dilatation of 3 cm. The midwife determines that the client has contractions occurring every 3 minutes. Each contraction lasts for 50 seconds. The fetal heart rate is determined at 100 beats per minute. Which of the following is the priority action of the midwife?
A)Encourage the client to push with every contraction and to rest in between contractions.
B)Administer oxygen via face mask.
C)Document the findings as normal.
D)Encourage frequent change of position.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The priority action of the midwife is to administer oxygen by a face mask. The normal fetal heart rate is 120 to 160 beats per minute; a fetal heart rate of 100 beats per minute is not a normal finding. This finding suggests that the fetus may be in distress. Encouraging the client to push with every contraction is not recommended. The client may be placed in side-lying position to promote fetal circulation.

A Midwife Is Monitoring a Client with a Cervical Dilatation