NCLEX RN Practice Question 447

Free NCLEX Practice Questions.

Take Practice Question # 447

DIABETES MELLITUS

Description

• Pregnancy places demands on carbohydrate metabolism and causes insulin requirements to change.
• Maternal glucose crosses the placenta, but insulin does not.
• During the first trimester, maternal insulin needs decrease.
• During the second and third trimesters, increases in placental hormones cause an insulin-resistant state, requiring an increase in the client’s insulin dose.
• After placental delivery, placental hormone levels abruptly decrease and insulin requirements decrease.
• The fetus produces its own insulin and pulls glucose from the mother, which predisposes the mother to hypoglycemic reactions.
• The newborn of a diabetic mother may be large in size, but has functions related to gestational age rather than size.
• The newborn of a diabetic mother is at risk for hypoglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia, respiratory distress syndrome, hypocalcemia, and congenital anomalies.