With regard to a pregnant woman's anxiety and pain experience, nurses should be aware that:
a. Even mild anxiety must be treated.
b. Severe anxiety increases tension, which increases pain, which in turn increases fear and anxiety, and so on.
c. Anxiety may increase the perception of pain, but it does not affect the mechanism of labor.
d. Women who have had a painful labor will have learned from the experience and have less anxiety the second time because of increased familiarity.
ANS: B
Anxiety and pain reinforce each other in a negative cycle. Mild anxiety is normal for a woman in labor and likely needs no special treatment other than the standard reassurances. Anxiety increases muscle tension and ultimately can build sufficiently to slow the progress of labor. Unfortunately, an anxious, painful first labor is likely to carry over, through expectations and memories, into an anxious and painful experience in the second pregnancy.
You might also like to view...
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) defines the requirements for which aspect of care as it relates to long-term care?
a. Nursing care b. Nutritional support c. Quality of care d. Staffing requirements
When assessing a patient with respiratory alkalosis, the nurse expects to see:
a. slow respirations. b. muscle weakness. c. strong, even heart rate. d. flushed face.
The ____________ is one method used to evaluate the adequacy of coital technique, cervical mucous, sperm quality and penetration
Fill in the blank(s) with correct word
Which technique will be most successful in ensuring effective communication? The nurse uses
a. Interpersonal communication to change negative self-talk to positive self-talk. b. Small group communication to present information to an audience. c. Intrapersonal communication to build strong teams. d. Transpersonal communication to enhance meditation.