Practice Question
A nurse is instructing a woman who is contemplating pregnancy about nutritional needs. To reduce the risk of giving birth to a newborn who has a neural tube defect, which of the following information should the nurse include in the teaching?
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Correct Answer:
Take a folic acid supplement for at least 3 months before you get pregnant.
Rationale:
🟢 Folic acid (vitamin B9) is essential for proper neural tube development, and taking it prior to conception significantly reduces the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) such as spina bifida and anencephaly.
🟢 The neural tube closes by day 28 of gestation—often before many women even know they are pregnant—so preconception supplementation is critical.
🟢 The CDC and other health authorities recommend taking 400 to 800 mcg of folic acid daily, beginning at least 1 month before conception, but ideally 3 months or longer for maximum protection.
🟢 While iron, alcohol avoidance, and general nutrition are important during pregnancy, folic acid intake before pregnancy is the most specific and effective action to prevent NTDs.
🟢 Folic acid can be taken alone or as part of a prenatal multivitamin.
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This question is from RN ATI Maternity Exam IV which contains 68 questions.
More Questions from This Exam
A nurse is teaching a group of clients who are in their first trimester about exercise during pregnancy. Which of the following statements should the nurse include in the teaching?
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A nurse on the labor and delivery unit is caring for a patient who is having induction of labor with oxytocin administered through a secondary IV line. Uterine contractions occur every 2 minutes, last 90 seconds, and are strong to palpation. The baseline fetal heart rate is 150/minute, with uniform decelerations beginning at the peak of the contraction and a return to baseline after the contraction is over. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?
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A nurse is providing teaching about expected gestational changes to a client who is at 12 weeks of gestation. Which of the following statements by the client indicates a need for further teaching?
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A nurse in a prenatal clinic is instructing a client about an amniocentesis, which is scheduled at 15 weeks of gestation. Which of the following should be included in the teaching?
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A nurse is preparing to measure the fundal height of a client who is at 22 weeks of gestation. At which location should the nurse expect to palpate the fundus?
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Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: ATI Exam(s)
- Domain: RN ATI Maternal & Newborn Care
- Answer Choices: 4