RN Nursing · Prenatal Care · Practice question
A nurse in a prenatal clinic is reviewing expected physiological changes during the first trimester of pregnancy with a newly licensed nurse. Which of the following statements should the nurse make?
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"The client will experience quickening by the 12th week of gestation."
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"Braxton Hicks contractions will begin at the end of the first trimester."
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"The breasts will begin to leak colostrum before the end of the first trimester."
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✓
"The cervix will have a blue hue by the 8th week of gestation."
Answer & explanation
Correct: "The cervix will have a blue hue by the 8th week of gestation."
Chadwick's sign is the blue-violet discoloration of the cervix, vagina, and vulva caused by increased vascularity and venous congestion during pregnancy. It typically appears by the 6th to 8th week of gestation, making it an expected first-trimester physiological change. The statement that the cervix will have a blue hue by the 8th week of gestation is therefore correct and represents Chadwick's sign. Quickening, the mother's first perception of fetal movement, does not occur by the 12th week; it typically begins between 16 and 20 weeks of gestation in a first-time mother. Braxton Hicks contractions are irregular, painless uterine contractions that begin much later in pregnancy, generally around 16 weeks or later, not at the end of the first trimester. Colostrum leakage before the end of the first trimester is not expected; while the breasts begin to change early in pregnancy, leaking colostrum typically occurs later, often in the second or third trimester. The keyed answer is confirmed as correct.
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