Physiology in Pregnancy

Question 1

what changes occur in the breasts in pregnancy?

Answer 1

> secondary areola
> Montgomery tubules appear in areola
> increased vascularity
                     size
                     pigmentation

Question 2

what fluid is expressed from the breast at the end of the 3rd month?

Answer 2

colostrum like fluid

Question 3

true or false

in pregnancy urea and creatinine increase

Answer 3

false they decrease

Question 4

is glycosuria and haematuria common in pregnancy?

Answer 4

yes

Question 5

what percentage of women develop oedema in pregnancy?

Answer 5

80%

Question 6

what changes in the urinary collecting system occur in pregnancy?

Answer 6

there is dilation

Question 7

on what side is dilation of the urinary collecting system more pronounced?

Answer 7

the right

Question 8

what in the renal system increases in pregnancy?

Answer 8

> urate
> protein excretion
> creatinine clearance
> GFR
> renal plasma flow

Question 9

what haematological factors increase during pregnancy?

Answer 9

> plasma volume
iron requirements
folate requirements
white cell count

Question 10

what haematological factors decrease during pregnancy?

Answer 10

> red cell count
hcrit
haemoglobin
platelet count

Question 11

what change occur in the mean corpuscular volume and mean haemoglobin concentration?

Answer 11

no changes

Question 12

what happens to the following things during pregnancy?
> heart rate
> o2 consumption
> cardiac output
> blood flow
> circulating blood volume

Answer 12

they increase

Question 13

why should cpr in a pregnant lady never be done in the supine position?

Answer 13

because there is a 25% decrease in cardiac output

Question 14

what intrapartum CVS changes occur?

Answer 14

> pain (increased catecholamines)

> increased cardiac output by 10%

Question 15

what postpartum CVS changes occur?

Answer 15

> decreased blood pressure that increases at day 3-7
increase in systemic vascular resistance over 1st 2 weeks
cardiac output increases by 80% 1st hour post delivery

Question 16

how long until postpartum CVS changes return to normal?

Answer 16

3 months

Question 17

by how much does the blood volume decrease by 3 days post delivery?

Answer 17

10%

Question 18

how long after delivery should blood pressure be back to pre-pregnant levels?

Answer 18

6 weeks

Question 19

what respiratory changes increase in pregnancy?

Answer 19

> 20% o2 demand
40-50% minute ventilation
respiratory rate
tidal volume

Question 20

what happens to functional residual capacity and PCO2 in pregnancy?

Answer 20

they decrease

Question 21

is shortness of breath in pregnancy physiological or pathological?

Answer 21

physiological

Question 22

true or false

asthmatics get worse in pregnancy as progesterone is a bronchoconstrictor

Answer 22

false

asthma gets better in pregnancy due to Broncho dilating effects of progesterone and endogenous steroids

Question 23

is PEFR and FEV1 increased or decreased in pregnancy?

Answer 23

unchanged

Question 24

what lab values are increased in pregnancy?

Answer 24

> ESR
> WCC
> 24hr protein
> alkaline phosphate
> d-dimer

Question 25

what lab values are decreased in pregnancy?

Answer 25

> urea
> platelets
> haemoglobin
> creatinine
> urate
> total protein
> albumin
> AST/ALT/GGT

Question 26

how are crp and bile acids affected in pregnancy?

Answer 26

no change at all