Final answer:
Interventions to stimulate contractions include encouraging the patient to sit upright, assisting them to ambulate, and stimulating the nipples, which can lead to the release of oxytocin and result in increased contractions. Emotional support and venting frustration do not directly stimulate contractions.
Step-by-step explanation:
To help stimulate contractions, a nurse can apply various interventions. Among the options given, the correct interventions are:
- Encouraging the patient to sit upright: This can help due to the gravitational force which might aid in the descent of the baby, putting pressure on the cervix and potentially stimulating contractions.
- Assisting the patient to ambulate: Walking or moving around can also help increase the pressure on the cervix and might encourage the onset or strengthening of contractions.
- Stimulating the nipples: This can prompt the body to release oxytocin, a hormone that causes the uterus to contract. Nipple stimulation is a known non-pharmacological method to induce labor.
Options such as offering emotional support and allowing the patient to vent frustration, while essential for patient care and comfort, do not directly stimulate contractions.
The connection between physical or mechanical interventions and contraction stimulation can be explained by the fact that when the child or fetus pushes on the cervix, it sends signals to the brain to release oxytocin from the pituitary gland, which causes uterine contractions. Stretching of the myometrium and cervix by a full-term fetus in the vertex position is a physiological stimulant to uterine contractions, initiating the regular contractions of true labor.