Final answer:
The nurse assesses the frequency of a laboring client's contractions by timing from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next contraction.
Step-by-step explanation:
The frequency of a laboring client's contractions is assessed by the nurse based on the timing from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next contraction. This means that the nurse measures the time interval between when one contraction starts and when the next one starts.
For example, if one contraction starts at 1:00 PM and the next contraction starts at 1:05 PM, then the frequency of the contractions is 5 minutes.
By timing the contractions in this way, the nurse can track how often the contractions are occurring and provide important information to the physician about the progress of labor.