Reproductive Cycle & Fetal Development
The hormone that surges to trigger ovulation.
What is luteinizing hormone (LH)?
Tip: LH spike follows estrogen from the dominant follicle.
Viral illness in infants causing wheeze, often due to RSV.
What is bronchiolitis?
Tip: Supportive care and hydration are mainstays.
First action when an axillary temp is 36.2°C (97.2°F).
What is dry and warm the infant (skin-to-skin or radiant warmer) and recheck?
Tip: Thermoregulation prevents metabolic stress.
Crepitus and decreased movement of an arm after shoulder dystocia — likely diagnosis?
What is clavicle fracture?
Tip: Check asymmetric Moro and distal pulses.
Simple rule to estimate due date from LMP (how many weeks total?).
What is 40 weeks (Naegele’s rule)?
Tip: LMP + 7 days − 3 months (approx).
Phase of the uterine cycle after ovulation, dominated by progesterone.
What is the luteal (secretory) phase?
Tip: Corpus luteum → progesterone → prepare endometrium.
Chest x-ray described as “ground-glass” — classic for which neonatal condition?
What is respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)?
Tip: Link to surfactant deficiency in preemies.
Two bedside signs that should prompt point-of-care glucose check.
What are jitteriness and poor feeding?
Tip: Check glucose early — signs can be nonspecific.
Midline umbilical wall defect with contents covered by a sac — name it.
What is omphalocele?
Tip: Often associated with other anomalies.
Safe dietary/self-care advice for common heartburn in pregnancy.
What is small, frequent meals and avoid lying flat after eating?
Tip: Lifestyle first; antacids if needed per protocol.
Weeks when major organ formation (organogenesis) primarily occurs — the highest teratogen risk window.
What is weeks 3–8 (embryonic period)?
Tip: Counsel about exposures in early pregnancy.
Tachypnea after birth that typically resolves in 24–72 hours, often following C-section.
What is transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN)?
Tip: Absence of labor is a key risk.
Jaundice appearing within 24 hours suggests what?
What is pathologic hyperbilirubinemia (investigate hemolysis)?
Tip: Early onset is abnormal — get a bilirubin level.
Newborn with drooling, choking on feeds, and inability to pass an NG tube — suspect?
What is esophageal atresia ± tracheoesophageal fistula (EA/TEF)?
Tip: Keep NPO, position upright, call surgery.
Recommended total weight-gain advice depends on pre-pregnancy category
What is follow pre-pregnancy BMI–based weight-gain recommendations (e.g., less for obese, more for underweight)?
Tip: Know the pattern: higher BMI → lower recommended gain.
Early pregnancy hormone that supports the corpus luteum until placenta takes over.
What is human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)?
Tip: hCG is what pregnancy tests detect.
Pediatric chronic disease with thick secretions and pancreatic insufficiency.
What is cystic fibrosis?
Tip: Think lungs + GI (malabsorption).
Physiologic circulatory change that increases pulmonary blood flow at birth.
What is decreased pulmonary vascular resistance after lung expansion?
Tip: First breaths cause pulmonary vasodilation.
Condition with abdominal distension, bloody stools, and pneumatosis intestinalis on x-ray in a preterm infant — diagnosis?
What is necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)?
Tip: Stop feeds, decompress, start antibiotics, consult NICU.
This finding at 32 weeks — uterine fundal height about 4 cm smaller than expected — could indicate incorrect dates, fetal growth restriction, or low amniotic fluid; the best next step is to get this imaging study with biometry and amniotic fluid assessment.
What is an ultrasound for fetal biometry and amniotic fluid assessment?
Tip: Always confirm dating and quantify growth/AFI by ultrasound before labeling a pregnancy as pathologic; combine imaging with fetal testing as indicated.
Mid-pregnancy milestone often felt by mothers as sustained movement.
What is fetal quickening?
Tip: Parity and maternal awareness affect timing (~16–20 wks).
Newborn with severe hypoxemia not responsive to O₂, differential pre/post-ductal sats and suspected right-to-left shunting — name the condition.
What is persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)?
Tip: Consider shunt physiology and cardiopulmonary support.
Explain briefly how cold stress in a neonate can lead to hypoglycemia (two-step physiologic link).
What is increased metabolic demand → nonshivering thermogenesis (brown fat) → increased glucose consumption → hypoglycemia?
Tip: Prevention (warmth) avoids this cascade.
Very preterm infants are particularly vulnerable to intraventricular hemorrhage because of this fragile vascular region and the infant’s inability to autoregulate which physiologic parameter.
What is the germinal matrix and impaired cerebral blood flow autoregulation?
Tip: Avoid rapid BP/ventilation changes in preemies to reduce IVH risk.
Maternal blood volume expands during normal pregnancy by approximately this percentage above pre-pregnancy levels (peaking near 32 weeks), contributing to physiologic hemodilution and the so-called 'anemia of pregnancy.
What is about 40% (roughly 30–50%)?
Tip: Emphasize that increased plasma volume > RBC increase causes physiologic anemia and provides hemodynamic reserve for placental perfusion and blood loss at delivery.