Final answer:
The nurse should inform the client that meconium is produced in the fetal intestines, and it's a sterile substance that becomes the newborn's first stool post-birth.
Step-by-step explanation:
A woman in labor passes some thick meconium as her amniotic fluid ruptures. The client asks the nurse where the baby makes the meconium. The correct response by the nurse is that meconium is made in the fetal intestines. Meconium is composed of ingested amniotic fluid, cellular debris, mucus, and bile. It accumulates in the intestines throughout the second half of gestation and is typically passed by the newborn as their first stool after birth. Swallowed amniotic fluid and its components contribute to the formation of meconium, which remains sterile as the fetus is in a sterile environment.
Normal amniotic fluid is clear and watery, but when meconium is passed, it stains the fluid greenish or yellowish. It's important that meconium is aspirated from the newborn's airways before they take their first breath to prevent complications such as inflammation of the fetal membranes or neonatal sepsis.