A nurse reads in a woman's chart that the fetus is in a longitudinal lie.What can the nurse conclude about this situation?
A) The fetal head is flexed prior to delivery.
B) The fetal head-to-tailbone axis is at a 90° angle to the woman's head-to-tailbone axis.
C) The fetal head-to-tailbone axis is the same as the woman's head-to-tailbone axis.
D) Vaginal birth will be very difficult.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fetal lie is the relationship of the long axis of the woman to the long axis of the fetus.If the head-to-tailbone axis of the fetus is the same as the woman's,the fetus is in a longitudinal lie.This occurs in more than 99% of pregnancies.Flexion of the fetal head is related to fetal attitude.When the long axis of the fetus is at a 90° angle to the long axis of the woman,it is called a transverse lie; this occurs in fewer than 1% of pregnancies.

A Nurse Reads in a Woman's Chart That the Fetus