A nurse is leading a discussion with a group of new mothers about ...

[09madisonrousseau09]

A nurse is leading a discussion with a group of new mothers about newborn nutrition and its importance for growth and development. One of the mothers asks, Doesn't the baby get iron from me before birth?
 
  Which response by the nurse would be most appropriate?
 
  A) You give the baby some iron, but it is not enough to sustain him after birth.
  B) Because the baby grows rapidly during the first months, he uses up what you gave him.
  C) The iron you give him before birth is different from what he needs once he is born.
  D) If the baby didn't use up what you gave him before birth, he excretes it soon after birth.

Question 2

The mother of a 5-year-old girl brings the child to the clinic for an evaluation. The mother tells the nurse, She seems to be so tired and irritable lately.
 
  And she looks so pale. Further assessment reveals pale conjunctiva and oral mucous membranes. The nurse suspects iron-deficiency anemia. Which additional finding would help provide additional evidence for this suspicion?
 
  A) Spooned nails
  B) Negative splenomegaly
  C) Oxygen saturation: 99
  D) Bradycardia

[taylorsonier]

Answer to Question 1

Ans: B
In the term infant, a period of physiologic anemia occurs between the age of 2 and 6 months. This is due to the fact that the infant demonstrates rapid growth and an increase in blood volume over the first several months of life, and maternally derived iron stores are depleted by age 4 to 6 months of age. Sufficient iron intake is critical for the appropriate development of hemoglobin and RBCs. Therefore, the infant must ingest adequate quantities of iron either from breast milk or from iron-fortified formula in early infancy and other food sources in later infancy.

Answer to Question 2

Ans: A
Spooning or concave shape of the nails suggests iron-deficiency anemia. Other findings would include decreased oxygen saturation levels, tachycardia, and possible splenomegaly.