Which one of the following statements is an accurate description ...

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Which one of the following statements is an accurate description of a drug with a designation of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Pregnancy Category A?
 
  a. The drug is not likely to cause fetal harm.
  b. The drug may or may not cause fetal harm.
  c. The drug may cause fetal harm, but it may be used if benefit outweighs risk.
  d. Use of the drug is contraindicated owing to prior demonstrated evidence of fetal harm.

Question 2

The health care provider is prescribing drug therapy for a patient who is 10 weeks pregnant. In prescribing the drug, the health care provider must take into consideration that an expected out-come for this patient at this stage of her pregnancy is:
 
  a. Increased peripheral vascular resistance
  b. Increased cardiac output
  c. Increased gastric acid secretion
  d. Decreased renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate (GFR)

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Answer to Question 1

ANS: A
Category A means that adequate, well-controlled studies in pregnant women have not shown an increased risk of fetal abnormalities, and the possibility of fetal harm appears remote.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
Cardiac output rises in early pregnancy as a result of the increasing heart rate. Later in pregnancy, stroke volume rises by 40 mL above nonpregnant levels, reaching a peak at 20 to 24 weeks of gestation. Distribution of blood flow also changes as cardiac output increases. The most dramatic increase occurs in uterine blood flow, with a change from 50 mL/min to 500 to 700 mL/min. This increase represents 10 to 20 of the cardiac output.