Practice Question
A mother asks whether or not she should be concerned that her baby never opens his mouth to breathe when his nose is so small. Which of the following is the nurse's best response?
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Correct Answer:
"Babies usually breathe in and out through their noses so they can feed without choking."
Rationale:
🔷 Newborns are obligate nose breathers, meaning they primarily breathe through their noses rather than their mouths, especially in the first few months of life.
🔷 This allows them to suck and breathe at the same time during breastfeeding or bottle feeding, minimizing the risk of aspiration or choking.
🔷 This response provides accurate, reassuring education to the mother while also validating her observation in a professional and informative way.
🔷 It helps reduce unnecessary concern while promoting parental understanding of normal newborn physiology.
🔷 There is no indication from the question that the newborn is in respiratory distress or has nasal obstruction requiring medical intervention.
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This question is from Maternity exam 2 ( Samuel Merit University) which contains 49 questions.
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The nurse has received shift report on the postpartum unit. Which patient should the nurse see first?
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A full term newborn was just born. Which nursing intervention is important for the nurse to perform first?
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Part of the health assessment of a newborn includes observation of the neonate's breathing pattern. A full-term newborn's breathing pattern is predominantly:
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Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: General Exams
- Domain: 🤱🏼Maternity & Newborn Care
- Answer Choices: 4