Question

A woman who is at 31 weeks' gestation comes to the clinic in labor. The physician decides to use terbutaline therapy before transferring the woman to the hospital. The patient is upset and confused and asks the nurse why she can't just have the baby, that it's only 5 weeks early. An appropriate response by the nurse should be:

a) "The drug provides sufficient time for other medications to be given to improve your baby's outcome."
b) "The drug that you are being given will prevent and control postpartum bleeding."
c) "This drug helps induce uterine contractions and milk ejection for breast-feeding."
d) "This drug will make your delivery in a few days less painful."

Answer 1

The appropriate response for a nurse to a pregnant woman at 31 weeks who is receiving terbutaline therapy is to explain that the medication is administered to delay delivery, allowing time for the administration of other medications that can improve the baby's outcomes, such as the development of the lungs.

Step-by-step explanation:

The woman at 31 weeks' gestation is in preterm labor, which is labor that occurs before 37 weeks of gestation. The administration of terbutaline therapy is aimed at stopping or slowing contractions to prevent preterm birth. An appropriate response to the woman's question regarding why she cannot have the baby yet would be:

"The drug provides sufficient time for other medications to be given to improve your baby's outcome."

This is because babies born before 37 weeks may not have fully developed lungs and other vital organs, which can lead to complications. Terbutaline is a medication that can relax the muscles of the uterus and delay delivery to allow the administration of corticosteroids to accelerate fetal lung maturity and other treatments that improve neonatal outcomes.