Author Question: The nurse is calling postpartum patients. Which patient should be seen immediately? The patient at 4 ... (Read 101 times)

geoffrey · **on:** Jun 28, 2018

The nurse is calling postpartum patients. Which patient should be seen immediately? The patient at 4 weeks postpartum who:

1. Describes feeling sad all the time.
2. Reports hearing voices talking about the baby.
3. States she has no appetite and wants to sleep all day.
4. Says she needs a refill on her sertraline (Zoloft) next week.

Question 2

The maternal nurse educator is conducting a presentation for antepartum patients describing the identification and care of women diagnosed with postpartum psychiatric disorders.

Which information should the maternal nurse educator include in her teaching content?
1. Postpartum depression occurs in as many as 50 to 70 of mothers and is characterized by mild depression interspersed with happier feelings.
2. Postpartum depression is typically mild and usually self-limiting, lasting up to 6 weeks.
3. Even if she is asymptomatic, a woman with a history of postpartum depression should be referred to a mental health professional for counseling and biweekly visits postpartum.
4. Women with postpartum depression have a history of exposure to an extremely traumatic personal event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury and evokes intense fear, helplessness, or horror.

amcvicar · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 28, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Correct Answer: 2
Rationale 1: While this may indicate postpartum blues or postpartum depression, and is not the highest priority.
Rationale 2: This is an indication the patient is experiencing postpartum psychosis, and is the highest priority, because the voices might tell her to harm her baby.
Rationale 3: This is an indication the patient is experiencing may be experiencing postpartum depression, but is not the highest priority.
Rationale 4: A patient on medications needs refills on time, but right now she has medication, and therefore is not a high priority.

Answer to Question 2

Correct Answer: 3
Rationale 1: As many as 50 to 70 of mothers develop adjustment reaction with depressed mood, which is also known as postpartum blues, or as maternal or baby blues. Unlike postpartum depression, this condition is characterized by mild depression interspersed with happier feelings.
Rationale 2: Postpartum blues typically manifest as mild symptoms that are transient and self-limiting. Postpartum depression is severe and poses major threats to the woman and the infant, as well as to the father/partner.
Rationale 3: Women with a history of postpartum psychosis or depression or other risk factors should be referred to a mental health professional for counseling and biweekly visits between the second and sixth week postpartum for evaluation.
Rationale 4: Post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD (also called post-traumatic stress syndrome) is associated with exposure to an extremely traumatic event involving direct personal experience with actual or threatened death or serious injury, and evokes a reaction of intense fear, helplessness, or horror.