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?

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