Abruptio Placenta for Certified Emergency Nursing (CEN)

A woman in the 38th week of pregnancy arrives at the emergency department (ED) complaining of painless vaginal bleeding that occurred, without warning, upon arising this morning. Her abdomen is soft, and her uterus is nontender. The fetal heart rate is assessed at the umbilical level at 120 bears/minute. Based on the patient history and physical findings, the nurse would suspect that the patient has:

The nurse would expect the first sign of placental separation to be:

If impending shock were suspected in a pregnant patient with vaginal bleeding, the initial nursing action would be to stay with the patient and alert the other staff. The next action would be to:

A woman in the 38th week of pregnancy arrives at the emergency department (ED) complaining of painless vaginal bleeding that occurred, without warning, upon arising this morning. Her abdomen is soft, and her uterus is nontender. The fetal heart rate is assessed at the umbilical level at 120 bears/minute. Based on the patient history and physical findings, the nurse would suspect that the patient has:

Which finding would the nurse expect to note when assessing a patient who is bleeding from abruptio placentae?

Any third-trimester vaginal bleeding calls for close fetal monitoring. Which fetal heart rate pattern would alert the nurse to the deterioration in a client’s condition?