A nurse is caring for a female client who is scheduled to have a pelvic examination.
The client tells the nurse, "I'm really nervous because I've never had a pelvic exam before.”. Which of the following is an appropriate therapeutic response by the nurse?

The correct answer is choice b. Drying the newborn’s skin thoroughly.

Choice A rationale:

Maintaining ambient room temperature at 24° C (75° F) helps in reducing overall heat loss but does not specifically address evaporative heat loss. Evaporative heat loss occurs when moisture on the skin evaporates, cooling the skin.

Choice B rationale:

Drying the newborn’s skin thoroughly reduces evaporative heat loss by removing moisture that can evaporate and cool the skin. This is a critical action immediately after birth when the newborn is wet with amniotic fluid.

Choice C rationale:

Preventing air drafts helps reduce convective heat loss, not evaporative heat loss. Convective heat loss occurs when air currents carry heat away from the body.

Choice D rationale:

Placing the newborn on a warm surface helps reduce conductive heat loss, which occurs when the newborn’s body comes into contact with a cooler surface. This does not specifically address evaporative heat loss.

By thoroughly drying the newborn’s skin, the nurse effectively minimizes evaporative heat loss, ensuring the newborn maintains a stable body temperature.

Choice A rationale:

Abdominal pain with minimal red vaginal bleeding is more suggestive of abruptio placentae rather than placenta previa. Placenta previa is characterized by painless vaginal bleeding, and the absence of pain is a key distinguishing factor in its diagnosis. Therefore, this finding does not align with the typical presentation of placenta previa.

Choice B rationale:

Severe abdominal pain with increasing fundal height is not consistent with the typical presentation of placenta previa. Placenta previa is generally associated with painless vaginal bleeding, and fundal height measurements are not typically used to diagnose placenta previa. This finding suggests a different condition, such as abruptio placentae, which involves painful bleeding with a rising fundal height.

Choice D rationale:

Intermittent abdominal pain following the passage of bloody mucus is more characteristic of preterm labor or other conditions, not placenta previa. Placenta previa is primarily associated with painless, bright red vaginal bleeding without contractions or pain. Therefore, this finding does not align with the typical presentation of placenta previa.