Deck 15: Transition to Parenthood

Question 1

Hearing impaired parents face- many challenges in caregiving and parenting, particularly if their deafness dates back to infancy or early childhood. In order to ensure that the learning needs of these families are met, legislation has been passed that directs hospitals to use various communication techniques and resources with their deaf patients.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

When dealing with parents who have some form of sensory impairment, nurses should realize that all of these statements are true except:

A) One of the major difficulties visually impaired parents experience is the skepticism of health care professionals.
B) Visually impaired mothers cannot overcome the infant's need for eye-to-eye contact.
C) The best approach for the nurse is to assess the parents' capabilities rather than focusing on their disabilities.
D) Technologic advances, including the Internet, can provide deaf parents with a full range of parenting activities and information.

Answer 2

Visually impaired mothers cannot overcome the infant's need for eye-to-eye contact.

Question 3

The early postpartum period is a time of emotional and physical vulnerability. Many mothers can easily become psychologically overwhelmed by the reality of their new parental responsibilities. Fatigue compounds these issues. Although the baby blues are a common occurrence in the postpartum period, about one-half million women in America experience a more severe syndrome known as postpartum depression (PPD). Which statement regarding PPD is essential for the nurse to be aware of when attempting to formulate a nursing diagnosis?

A) PPD symptoms are consistently severe.
B) This syndrome affects only new mothers.
C) PPD can easily go undetected.
D) Only mental health professionals should teach new parents about this condition.

Answer 3

PPD can easily go undetected.

Question 4

New parents express concern that, because of the mother's emergency cesarean birth under general anesthesia, they did not have the opportunity to hold and bond with their daughter immediately after her birth. The nurse's response should convey to the parents that:

A) Attachment, or bonding, is a process that occurs over time and does not require early contact.
B) The time immediately after birth is a critical period for people.
C) Early contact is essential for optimum parent-infant relationships.
D) They should just be happy that the infant is healthy.

Question 5

The nurse can help a father in his transition to parenthood by:

A) Pointing out that the infant turned at the sound of his voice.
B) Encouraging him to go home to get some sleep.
C) Telling him to tape the infant's diaper a different way.
D) Suggesting that he let the infant sleep in the bassinet.

Question 6

The nurse hears a primiparous woman talking to her son and telling him that his chin is just like his dad's chin. This woman's statement reflects:

A) Mutuality.
B) Synchrony.
C) Claiming.
D) Reciprocity.

Question 7

The nurse notes that a Vietnamese woman does not cuddle or interact with her newborn other than to feed him, change his diapers or soiled clothes, and put him to bed. In evaluating the woman's behavior with her infant, the nurse realizes that:

A) What appears to be a lack of interest in the newborn is in fact the Vietnamese way of demonstrating intense love by attempting to ward off evil spirits.
B) The woman is inexperienced in caring for newborns.
C) The woman needs a referral to a social worker for further evaluation of her parenting behaviors once she goes home with the newborn.
D) Extra time needs to be planned for assisting the woman in bonding with her newborn.

Question 8

With regard to parents' early and extended contact with their infant and the relationships built, nurses should be aware that:

A) Immediate contact is essential for the parent-child relationship.
B) Skin-to-skin contact is preferable to contact with the body totally wrapped in a blanket.
C) Extended contact is especially important for adolescents and low-income women because they are at risk for parenting inadequacies.
D) Mothers need to take precedence over their partners and other family matters.

Question 9

In follow-up appointments or visits with parents and their new baby, it may be useful if the nurse can identify parental behaviors that can either facilitate or inhibit attachment. Which is a facilitating behavior?

A) The parents have difficulty naming the infant.
B) The parents hover around the infant, directing attention to and pointing at the infant.
C) The parents make no effort to interpret the actions or needs of the infant.
D) The parents do not move from fingertip touch to palmar contact and holding.

Question 10

After birth a crying infant may be soothed by being held in a position in which the newborn can hear the mother's heartbeat. This phenomenon is known as:

A) Entrainment.
B) Reciprocity.
C) Synchrony.
D) Biorhythmicity.

Question 11

In the United States the en face position is preferred immediately after birth. Nurses can facilitate this process by all of these actions except:

A) Washing both the infant's face and the mother's face.
B) Placing the infant on the mother's abdomen or breast with their heads on the same plane.
C) Dimming the lights.
D) Delaying the instillation of prophylactic antibiotic ointment in the infant's eyes.

Question 12

Of the many factors that influence parental responses, nurses should be aware that all of these statements regarding age are true except:

A) An adolescent mother's egocentricity and unmet developmental needs interfere with her ability to parent effectively.
B) An adolescent mother is likely to use less verbal instruction, be less responsive, and interact less positively than other mothers.
C) Adolescent mothers have a higher documented incidence of child abuse.
D) Mothers older than 35 often deal with more stress related to work and career issues and decreasing libido.

Question 13

The nurse observes several interactions between a postpartum woman and her new son. What behavior, if exhibited by this woman, would the nurse identify as a possible maladaptive behavior regarding parent-infant attachment?

A) Talks and coos to her son
B) Seldom makes eye contact with her son
C) Cuddles her son close to her
D) Tells visitors how well her son is feeding

Question 14

After giving birth to a healthy infant boy, a primiparous woman, 16, is admitted to the postpartum unit. An appropriate nursing diagnosis for her at this time is risk for impaired parenting related to deficient knowledge of newborn care. In planning for the woman's discharge, what should the nurse be certain to include in the plan of care?

A) Tell the woman how to feed and bathe her infant.
B) Give the woman written information on bathing her infant.
C) Advise the woman that all mothers instinctively know how to care for their infants.
D) Provide time for the woman to bathe her infant after she views an infant bath demonstration.

Question 15

With regard to the adaptation of other family members, mainly siblings and grandparents, to the newborn, nurses should be aware that:

A) Sibling rivalry cannot be dismissed as overblown psychobabble; negative feelings and behaviors can take a long time to blow over.
B) Participation in preparation classes helps both siblings and grandparents.
C) In the United States paternal and maternal grandparents consider themselves of equal importance and status.
D) Since 1990 the number of grandparents providing permanent care to their grandchildren has been declining.

Question 16

In addition to eye contact, early sensual contacts between infant and mother involve sound and smell. Nurses should be aware that, despite what folk wisdom might say:

A) High-pitched voices irritate newborns.
B) Infants can learn to distinguish their mother's voice from others soon after birth.
C) All babies in the hospital smell alike.
D) A mother's breast milk has no distinctive odor.