A nurse is providing teaching to a client who has heart failure and a decreased cardiac output. Which of the following information should the nurse include in the teaching?

Rationale:

A. Monitor the height and tone of the client's fundus: Assessing uterine fundus is essential postpartum, especially with signs of infection and moderate lochia. Monitoring for firmness, height, and consistency helps identify uterine atony or worsening infection, guiding timely interventions to prevent hemorrhage or complications.

B. Inform the client she will need to formula feed her newborn until she has received antibiotics for 24 hr: Most antibiotics prescribed for postpartum infections, such as clindamycin, are considered compatible with breastfeeding. Advising formula feeding unnecessarily could disrupt breastfeeding without clinical justification.

C. Initiate contact precautions: Postpartum infections like endometritis or mastitis are generally not spread via contact in a hospital setting. Standard precautions, including hand hygiene, are sufficient unless a specific transmissible pathogen is identified.

D. Instruct the client to wash her hands before and after changing her perineal pad: Hand hygiene prevents the spread of infection and reduces the risk of secondary infections. Teaching proper handwashing is an essential standard precaution for clients with postpartum infections.

E. Obtain a culture specimen of the lochia from the client's perineal pad using a sterile swab: Routine cultures of lochia are not indicated unless there is suspicion of an unusual pathogen or worsening infection. Assessment and empiric antibiotics are standard for postpartum endometritis based on clinical findings.

F. Encourage the client to maintain a semi-Fowler's position to enhance uterine drainage: Semi-Fowler’s positioning promotes uterine drainage, reduces stasis of lochia, and supports comfort. This position aids in preventing complications such as uterine infection or retention of lochia.

G. Request a prescription for terbutaline from the provider: Terbutaline is a tocolytic used to suppress preterm labor. It is not indicated for postpartum infection, uterine atony, or lochia management and is not appropriate in this scenario.

Rationale:

A. Contact: Contact precautions are used for infections transmitted by direct or indirect contact with the client or their environment, such as MRSA or C. difficile. Erythema migrans, associated with Lyme disease, is not spread through contact.

B. Droplet: Droplet precautions are for infections transmitted through large respiratory droplets, such as influenza or pertussis. Lyme disease does not spread via respiratory secretions, so droplet precautions are unnecessary.

C. Airborne: Airborne precautions apply to infections transmitted via small particles that remain suspended in the air, such as tuberculosis or measles. Lyme disease is not airborne, so this precaution is not required.

D. Standard: Standard precautions are appropriate for Lyme disease, including erythema migrans. These precautions involve routine hand hygiene, use of gloves when in contact with body fluids, and proper handling of contaminated materials, which are sufficient since the disease is transmitted via tick bites, not person-to-person.