Biology

Pregnancy and Childbirth

964 Questions

This hub covers essential biology questions on pregnancy, fetal development, and childbirth. Topics include the placenta, maternal physiology, and the stages of labor. These concepts are frequently tested in general science sections of various competitive examinations.

Placenta and fetal nutritionStages of laborMaternal immune systemPregnancy complications

Pregnancy and Childbirth Questions

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the appropriate answer from the options given below:

Theperiod elapsing between the termination of labor and the return of the generative tract to its normal condition is known as

  1. ante-natal period

  2. puerperal period

  3. Neonatal Period

  4. intra uterine period

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The puerperal period (or puerperium) is the postpartum period beginning immediately after childbirth and lasting about 6 weeks. During this time, the reproductive organs return to their normal, non-pregnant state. This involves involution of the uterus, healing of tissues, and cessation of lochia (postpartum bleeding).

Multiple choice

Mrs. Bhatiya is12 weeks pregnant and is noted to have an elevated blood pressure and proteinuria on a routine pregnancy health check. Which of the following statements is true?

  1. Cardiac output falls during pregnancy.

  2. She has pre-eclampsia .

  3. An underlying glomerulonephritis could be present .

  4. Most pregnant patients have significant proteinuria .

  5. Blood pressure always rises during pregnancy .
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

If blood pressure is relatively high in early pregnancy, this is abnormal. There are a number of causes of this including an underlying glomerulonephritis or pre-existing essential hypertension.

Multiple choice

Amniocentesis can be used to determine whether or not a developing foetus will

  1. have daibetes

  2. have Down syndrome

  3. be obesed

  4. will be intelligent
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

When amniocentesis is done after the 15th week of pregnancy, there is 99+% accuracy in detecting Down syndrome and most other problems related to gross chromosomal abnormalities, including neural tube defects such as spina bifida.

Multiple choice

AFP screening can wrongly give results indicating that an embryo has genetic defects if

  1. the date of conception of the women has been miscalculated

  2. the expecting mother is anemic

  3. the expecting mother has Rh negative blood

  4. the expecting mother has Rh positive blood

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Since the amount of AFP in a mother's blood varies with the stage of a pregnancy, a wrong date can mislead a doctor. Similarly, when it is unknown that there are twins, the resulting large amount of AFP will likely be misinterpreted as a problem.

Multiple choice

Mrs. XYZ is suffering from mother-fetus Rh blood type incompatibility problems. This is happening because the Rh factor of her and her fetus, respectively, are

  1. Rh positive & Rh positive

  2. Rh positive & Rh negative

  3. Rh negative & Rh positive

  4. Rh negative & Rh negative
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

In order for the fetus to be Rh positive, the father must also be Rh positive. As a result, when the mother is Rh negative and the father is Rh positive (or his Rh type is unknown), doctors usually assume that there will be a serious medical problem.

Multiple choice

If the father of a developing embryo is Rh positive and the mother is Rh negative, what are the chances that there will be a mother-fetus incompatibility problem? (Assuming that the lady has already had a son and 2 daughters and that there has been no medical treatment to anticipate this problem)

  1. 100%

  2. At least 50%

  3. Less than 50%

  4. 0%
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

If the father is homozygous dominant (DD) the chances of the fetus being Rh positive and an incompatibility problem occurring will be 100%. If the father is heterozygous (Dd), the chances are 50%. There will be no problem if the fetus is Rh negative.

Multiple choice

A couple is planning to have their first child and request to speak with a genetic counselor. The woman explains that she had a sister who died in childhood with Down syndrome. There is no other family history of the condition. What is the most appropriate counseling for them?

  1. Down syndrome is generally infrequent, so there is no increased risk to this couple.

  2. If her sister's karyotype analysis cannot be done, the woman herself should have chromosomal analysis.

  3. The pregnancy of the woman will be screened in the second trimester using alphafetoprotein, bhCG, and unconjugated estriol, which will be sufficient to detect Down syndrome, if it has occurred.

  4. The couple should obtain prenatal diagnosis by chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Although it is most likely that the sister with Down syndrome had trisomy 21, and she had a translocation, and the woman herself could be a carrier. This could be resolved either by obtaining a report of the sister's karyotype or performing chromosomal analysis on the woman.

Multiple choice

A chorionic villus sample is tested cytogenetically and found to have trisomy 15. This is followed up with a normal amniocentesis. Which interpretation is drawn?

  1. The fetus likely has trisomy 15, and maternal cell contamination probably explains the normal amniocensis.

  2. The fetus will likely be normal, and confined placental mosaicism probably explains the abnormal CVS result.

  3. The fetus should be tested uniparental disomy of chromosome 15, given the risk of Prader -Willi or Angelman syndromes.

  4. The abnormal CVS is probably due to pseudomosaicism and the fetus is likely to be normal.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

It is possible that the conceptus had trisomy 15, and that disomy was restored by loss of one 15. This could have resulted in uniparental disomy, which would lead to Prader-Willi or Angelman syndrome.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the nearest meaning to the word in bold.

A female foetus was found lying near the hospital.

  1. puppy

  2. toddler

  3. infant

  4. unborn baby
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

A foetus is an unborn offspring in the later stages of development, specifically from the eighth week after fertilization until birth. 'Unborn baby' is the most accurate synonym among the options. 'Puppy' refers to a young dog, 'toddler' is a young child who has just learned to walk, and 'infant' means a baby already born.

Multiple choice

A couple got blessed with a baby boy. But unfortunately, the baby fell victim of physiological jaundice. Which of the following is the major contributor to the development of physiological jaundice?

  1. Breastfeeding

  2. Decreased hepatic bilirubin excretion

  3. Immature hepatic enzymes

  4. Enterohepatic circulation

  5. Increased bilirubin production
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The major cause of physiological jaundice is increased bilirubin production due to increased haemoglobin levels at birth and a shortened red cell lifespan.