NCLEX-RN — Maternal & Newborn flashcards
10 of 71 cards free to study here · 8 topics · the whole deck is built into Willys
Naegele's rule and GTPAL, fetal heart rate patterns, labor stages, epidurals, previa vs abruption, preeclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage and lochia, Rh immune globulin, APGAR, newborn care, jaundice and breastfeeding.
Learn deck · part of NCLEX-RN · written against: NCSBN 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, in effect from 1 April 2026 (Next Generation NCLEX; client-needs categories and percentages unchanged from 2023, fact-checked 2026-10-11). Updated 2026-10-10.
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How is the estimated date of birth calculated with Naegele's rule?Take the first day of the last menstrual period, subtract 3 months, add 7 days, and add 1 year. An LMP of 10 May gives an estimated date of birth of 17 February the following year.Prenatal Care
Watch out: The rule assumes a regular 28-day cycle. -
What do the letters in GTPAL stand for?Gravida (all pregnancies, including the current one), Term births (37 weeks or later), Preterm births (20 weeks to before 37), Abortions or miscarriages (before 20 weeks), and Living children.Prenatal Care
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What does the VEAL CHOP mnemonic match?Fetal Monitoring
- Fetal heart rate patterns to their causes:
- Variable decelerations — Cord compression
- Early decelerations — Head compression
- Accelerations — Okay (well oxygenated)
- Late decelerations — Placental insufficiency.
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What is the typical baseline fetal heart rate, and what does moderate variability mean?Typically 110–160 beats per minute. Moderate variability (fluctuations of about 6–25 beats per minute) is reassuring: it shows a well-oxygenated fetal nervous system. Minimal or absent variability is concerning.Fetal Monitoring
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What are the four stages of labor, and when does each begin and end?Labor & Birth
- First: onset of regular contractions to full cervical dilation (10 cm);
- Second: full dilation to birth of the baby;
- Third: birth to delivery of the placenta;
- Fourth: roughly the first 1–4 hours after the placenta, when recovery and bleeding are watched closely.
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How does the bleeding of placenta previa differ from that of placental abruption?Antepartum Complications
- Placenta previa: sudden, painless, bright red bleeding with a soft, relaxed uterus
- Abruption: dark red bleeding (or none visible) with a painful, rigid, board-like uterus.
Mnemonic: Previa is painless. -
Where should the fundus be found after birth, and how does it change over the following days?At about the level of the umbilicus, firm and midline, in the first hours, then descending about 1 cm (one fingerbreadth) per day; it is usually no longer palpable abdominally by about 2 weeks.Postpartum Care
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What five things does the APGAR score assess, and when is it done?Appearance (color), Pulse (heart rate), Grimace (reflex irritability), Activity (muscle tone), and Respiration, each scored 0–2, at 1 and 5 minutes after birth. A total of 7–10 is reassuring.Newborn Assessment
Watch out: resuscitation is never delayed for the APGAR; it starts at once based on breathing and heart rate. -
How does physiologic jaundice differ from pathologic jaundice in a newborn?Physiologic jaundice appears after 24 hours of age, peaks around days 3–5, and resolves on its own. Pathologic jaundice appears within the first 24 hours, rises rapidly, or lasts unusually long, suggesting hemolysis (such as Rh or ABO incompatibility) or other disease.Newborn Jaundice
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What signs show a newborn is latched on and feeding well at the breast?A wide-open mouth taking in much of the areola, flanged lips, rhythmic sucking with audible swallowing, no ongoing nipple pain after the first few sucks, and a content baby after the feed.Breastfeeding
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About these cards
Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.
Checked against:
- OpenStax Maternal-Newborn Nursing, consulted as a reference; no text copied.
- Checked against Open RN Nursing Fundamentals (Chippewa Valley Technical College, CC BY 4.0) and MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine); reference only, no text copied.
- Fetal heart rate definitions cross-checked against the NICHD electronic fetal monitoring terminology; newborn prophylaxis and breastfeeding guides against CDC and AAP public guidance; reference only.
- Group B strep timing checked against ACOG Committee Opinion 797 (2020); antenatal corticosteroids and gestational diabetes screening against ACOG guidance; postpartum MMR against CDC vaccine guidance (public domain); neonatal opioid withdrawal care against AAP guidance; reference only, no text copied.
- Fact-checked 2026-10-11 against the NICHD 2008 fetal monitoring workshop definitions, ACOG's 2025 clinical practice guideline on intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring, ACOG Practice Bulletin 222 (2020) on preeclampsia severe features, and ACOG Practice Bulletin 181 (2017) with the 2024 Clinical Practice Update on Rh immune globulin; reference only, no text copied.
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