A pregnant college student is waiting patiently to be discharged after being treated for premature uterine contractions. The nurse assesses the patient before discharge and notices a pool of blood under the patient's pelvis. The patient reports no pain, discomfort, or nausea. The nurse should do which of the following before discharging the patient?

Explanation

•Drug addicted newborns usually experience drug withdrawal symptoms beginning 24-48 hours birth (but it may take up to a week for symptoms to appear).  This includes low birth weight, nervousness, irritability, seizures, poor feeding, piercing cry, and respiratory distress.

•Illicit drugs tend to be of small molecular weight, so they cross the placenta readily. As a result, the fetus of an addicted mother has a drug concentration of about 50% that of the mother.

•Other choices are incorrect, infants usually appear lethargic and irritable.

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