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Caring for pregnant and postpartum pts. which client does the nurse see 1st?

- 6wks gestation, LPN can't get fetal heart tones with doptone
- 5 days postpartum, bright red bloody discharge
- 22 wks gestation, feels fetal movement 4times per hour
- 2 days postpartum, has urinary incontinence

User Dannysood
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1 Answer

6 votes

Final answer:

The nurse should first attend to the postpartum patient with bright red bloody discharge as it indicates a potentially life-threatening postpartum hemorrhage.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse should see the patient with 5 days postpartum, bright red bloody discharge first. This could be a sign of postpartum hemorrhage, a potentially life-threatening condition that requires immediate attention. The lack of fetal heart tones at 6 weeks gestation using a Doppler is concerning, but not necessarily an emergency at this stage, as heart tones are often not detected until 10-12 weeks with a Doppler.

22 weeks gestation feeling fetal movement is normal and not an urgent concern. 2 days postpartum, having urinary incontinence is concerning for the patient's comfort and quality of life, but it is not as immediate a threat to life as potential hemorrhage. The LPN not being able to get fetal heart tones at 6 weeks gestation is not an immediate concern since it is still early in the pregnancy and fetal heart tones may not be easily detected yet.

User Akash Raghav
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