Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 91%
Simulated
Passage / Scenario
A nurse is caring for a client who is in labor and has an external fetal monitor. The nurse observes late decelerations on the monitor strip.A nurse is caring for a client who is in labor and has an external fetal monitor. The nurse observes late decelerations on the monitor strip and interprets them as indicating which of the following?
Correct answer
C
Rationale
Late decelerations indicate uteroplacental insufficiency, where reduced placental blood flow causes fetal hypoxia, shown by symmetrical heart rate decreases after contraction peaks.