Question

A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a client who is at 17 weeks of gestation and is scheduled to have a maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSÄFP) determination. Which of the following information should the nurse include?

A. This test will screen for gestational diabetes.
Rationale: A glucose tolerance test screens for gestational diabetes.
B.This test will screen for neural tube defects.
Rationale: MSAFP measures blood levels of alpha-fetoprotein in the client's blood. Abnormal levels can indicate a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida, as well as multifetal pregnancies and fetal abdominal wall defects.
C. This test will screen for fetal maturity.
Rationale: Fetal maturity is generally determined with tests performed on amniotic fluid and with
Ultrasonography.
D. This test will screen for ABO incompatibility.
Rationale: Blood typing helps determine AB incompatibility.

Answer 1

The nurse should include information about the maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSÄFP) determination test screening for neural tube defects, multifetal pregnancies, and fetal abdominal wall defects.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse should include the information that the maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSÄFP) determination test will screen for neural tube defects such as spina bifida, as well as multifetal pregnancies and fetal abdominal wall defects. Abnormal levels of alpha-fetoprotein in the client's blood can indicate these conditions. Other tests, such as the glucose tolerance test, are used to screen for gestational diabetes, but not the MSÄFP test.