A nurse is assessing a newborn who was born at 42.5 weeks of gestation. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A.
Increased subcutaneous fat<\/p>\n\n\n\n
B.
Dry, cracked skin<\/p>\n\n\n\n
C.
Scant scalp hair<\/p>\n\n\n\n
D.
Copious vernix<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The correct answer and Explanation is :<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n The correct answer is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n B. Dry, cracked skin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A newborn born at 42.5 weeks of gestation<\/strong> is considered post-term (beyond 42 weeks), and post-term infants exhibit specific characteristics due to prolonged exposure to the intrauterine environment. Let’s go through each option and discuss why B<\/strong> is the correct answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A. Increased subcutaneous fat<\/strong> B. Dry, cracked skin<\/strong> C. Scant scalp hair<\/strong> D. Copious vernix<\/strong> In conclusion, post-term infants like those born at 42.5 weeks are prone to dry, cracked skin due to the decreased presence of vernix and prolonged exposure to the uterine environment, making B<\/strong> the correct answer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A nurse is assessing a newborn who was born at 42.5 weeks of gestation. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect? A.Increased subcutaneous fat B.Dry, cracked skin C.Scant scalp hair D.Copious vernix The correct answer and Explanation is : The correct answer is: B. Dry, cracked skin Explanation: A newborn born at 42.5 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138664\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Explanation:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
This is incorrect. While term infants typically have a good amount of subcutaneous fat, post-term infants might actually have reduced subcutaneous fat. This can occur because the placenta may begin to deteriorate after 40 weeks, leading to reduced nutrient and oxygen supply. As a result, post-term infants may show signs of wasting and loss of fat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is correct. Post-term newborns have dry, cracked, and peeling skin. Vernix caseosa, the protective layer that coats the skin in utero, diminishes by term (around 40 weeks), so post-term infants may have little to no vernix left. Without this protective layer, their skin can appear leathery, dry, and cracked due to the prolonged exposure to amniotic fluid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is incorrect. Post-term infants typically have well-developed physical features, including a head of hair. Scant scalp hair is more commonly seen in preterm infants rather than post-term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is incorrect. Vernix caseosa decreases as gestation progresses. By 42.5 weeks, most of the vernix will have been absorbed or washed away, and post-term infants usually have very little to no vernix remaining. Copious vernix is more characteristic of preterm infants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n