| Course | NSG 222 Family Nursing |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 4 |
| Paper type | Newborn transition record |
| Length | About 760 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | BSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NSG 222 Unit 4
The First Six Hours of a Term Girl: A Timed Transition Record With a Fast Breathing Rate That Settled on Its Own
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NSG 222: Family Nursing
Instructor Name
February 4, 2026
The First Six Hours of a Term Girl: A Timed Transition Record With a Fast Breathing Rate That Settled on Its Own
Delivery and Identification
Composite newborn girl, born at 1452 by vaginal birth after a previous cesarean (the mother's labor is recorded in Unit 2), at 39 weeks 3 days. Membranes ruptured 3 hours before birth with clear fluid. Mother's blood type O positive; group B streptococcus screen negative. Identification bands matching the mother's placed on the baby's ankle and wrist at 1455, checked aloud by two nurses with the mother.
Timed Entries
1452. Born; placed skin to skin on the mother's chest, dried with warm towels, wet towels removed, hat on. Cried within seconds. Early skin-to-skin contact supports temperature, blood sugar, and breastfeeding in healthy newborns (Moore et al., 2016).
1453. Apgar score at 1 minute: 8 (1 off for color, 1 off for tone).
1457. Apgar score at 5 minutes: 9 (1 off for color, hands and feet bluish).
1520. Respirations 64 per minute, heart rate 150, axillary temperature 36.8 °C. Pink centrally, hands and feet bluish. Alert, rooting; first breastfeed began at 1525.
1552. Respirations 72, with mild nasal flaring and a soft grunt at the end of some breaths. No retractions between the ribs. Oxygen saturation 95% on the right hand. Heart rate 156. Primary nurse and the pediatric provider informed at 1555.
1600. Pediatric provider assessed; plan to observe with respirations and saturation every 30 minutes, keep skin to skin, and reassess at 2 hours. Fast breathing with mild grunting soon after birth that settles within hours is typical of transient tachypnea of the newborn, where lung fluid is cleared more slowly (Hermansen & Mahajan, 2015); persistent or worsening signs would lead to further evaluation.
1630. Respirations 66, grunting less often, saturation 96%.
1700. Respirations 60, no grunting or flaring, saturation 97%. Sleeping on mother's chest.
1715. Weight 3,410 g; length 50 cm; head circumference 34.5 cm; recorded, not rounded.
1720. Vitamin K given as ordered, intramuscular, left thigh, which prevents vitamin K deficiency bleeding (Committee on Fetus and Newborn, 2003). Erythromycin eye ointment applied with the parents' agreement. Hepatitis B vaccine given, right thigh, with the parents' written consent.
1800. Temperature 36.9 °C, respirations 52, heart rate 138. Deeply asleep; the quieter period that follows the first alert hour.
1930. Awake, rooting, second feed 15 minutes; passed meconium. Respirations 48.
2045. Temperature 37.0 °C, respirations 46, heart rate 142. Alert and active, sucking well. Voided (wet diaper).
What the Parents Were Told, and When
At 1555, when the fast breathing was noticed, the parents were told what the nurse saw, that the pediatric provider was being called, and that the baby would stay on her mother's chest while being watched. At 1600 the provider explained the likely cause and the plan. At 1700 the nurse told them the breathing had settled and what would still be checked. Before each injection at 1720, the purpose was explained again and the parents' agreement recorded. Her father, who had been quiet and anxious during the 1552 entry, asked to do the next temperature check with the nurse at 1800 and did so. Recording these conversations with their times matters because a family's first hours with a newborn are also the first hours of their trust in the unit.
Reading the Record Against the Expected Transition
The course text describes newborn transition in phases: an alert first period of reactivity lasting about the first 30 to 60 minutes, then a period of sleep and lower responsiveness, and a second period of reactivity some hours later (Lowdermilk et al., 2020). The record follows that pattern: alert and feeding at 1525, deeply asleep by 1800, awake and active from 1930. The one departure was the respiratory rate, which rose above the usual upper limit of about 60 per minute at 1552 and returned to it by 1700. It was reported within minutes, assessed by the provider, and watched at set intervals, and it settled without treatment. The hands and feet stayed bluish longer than the rest of her body in the first hours, which is common and is recorded rather than treated as low oxygen, since her central color and saturation were normal.
What Would Have Changed the Plan
Retractions, saturation below the unit's threshold, respirations still above 60 at the two-hour reassessment, a temperature outside the normal range, or poor feeding would each have led to further assessment, since the same early signs can come from infection or other causes (Hermansen & Mahajan, 2015). None appeared. The newborn is a composite.
References
Committee on Fetus and Newborn. (2003). Controversies concerning vitamin K and the newborn. Pediatrics, 112(1), 191-192. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.112.1.191
Hermansen, C. L., & Mahajan, A. (2015). Newborn respiratory distress. American Family Physician, 92(11), 994-1002.
Lowdermilk, D. L., Perry, S. E., Cashion, K., Alden, K. R., & Olshansky, E. F. (2020). Maternity & women's health care (12th ed.). Elsevier.
Moore, E. R., Bergman, N., Anderson, G. C., & Medley, N. (2016). Early skin-to-skin contact for mothers and their healthy newborn infants. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Article CD003519. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003519.pub4
What the NSG 222 Unit 4 instructions ask for
Unit 4 asks you to record a newborn's transition in the first hours after birth. Expect to record delivery and identification, write timed entries with assessments and interventions, record what parents were told, compare findings with expected transition phases and name what would change the plan. Many versions ask how often to assess and which findings need escalation. Check whether your section uses a specific schedule. Transition has predictable phases, including a first period of reactivity and a quieter sleep phase. Fast breathing can be normal briefly but needs watching. Skin-to-skin contact and early feeding support transition. Parent communication should be timely and plain. Note the time of first feed, first void and first stool, which show the newborn is adapting.
How this NSG 222 Unit 4 example is built
The record opens with birth details and identification, including band numbers. Timed entries follow with each assessment and intervention, such as temperature, heart rate, breathing and feeding. The fast breathing entry records the checks made, including saturation and work of breathing, and the decision to watch. The parent section records what was said at each point, which shows communication alongside care. The reading section compares the record with expected phases, explaining that the breathing settled during the expected quieter period. The final section lists findings that would have led to escalation. Each decision rests on a stated threshold. First feed, first void and first stool are each timed in the record.
NSG 222 Unit 4 rubric: what full points look like
Herzing's rubric for a newborn transition record typically covers identification, timed assessments, interventions, parent communication, comparison with expected transition and escalation criteria. Escalation thresholds draw the closest reading, because they show the student knows when watching should become acting. Timing points reward regular entries through the first hours. Intervention criteria look for skin-to-skin contact, early feeding, vitamin K and eye prophylaxis. Parent communication earns credit when it is timely and plain. Comparison points go to the phases of transition and how the newborn fit them. Temperature regulation should be addressed. Glucose screening, where indicated, is often credited. The AAP's newborn guidance and Hillman's transition review support the record.
NSG 222 Unit 4 help before you submit
Newborn records in Unit 4 commonly lose points through irregular timing that hides when changes began. Another frequent problem is treating fast breathing as either normal or an emergency without checking other signs. Students often skip parent communication. Escalation thresholds are missing. Medications such as vitamin K and eye prophylaxis are not recorded. Temperature regulation is ignored, though cold stress worsens breathing. First void and stool are not documented. Feeding attempts are not timed. Apgar scores are listed without what they mean. Finally, state what would change the plan, because graders reward a record that knows its own limits. Another gap is forgetting to record who was present and how the parents responded to each explanation.
Get a NSG 222 Unit 4 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 4 instructions and the rubric from your NSG 222 classroom, along with the documentation format and the sequence your section teaches. We write a custom example that runs in time order, follows that sequence, records observations without interpreting them and closes on how the newborn was left. First custom sample free, back in 24 to 48 hours.
More NSG 222 papers and BSN samples
- NSG 222 Unit 1: Prenatal risk history record
- NSG 222 Unit 2: Stage of labor record
- NSG 222 Unit 3: Postpartum recovery log
- NSG 222 Unit 5: Feeding and attachment record
- NSG 222 Unit 6: Maternal warning sign timeline
- NSG 222 Unit 7: Family assessment write-up
- NSG 222 Unit 8: Two patient priority write-up
- NSG 423 Unit 4: Professional association engagement record
- NSG 633 Unit 4: Control strength comparison
- NSG 660 Unit 4: Study comparison grid
- NSG 120 Unit 4: Body system comparison
NSG 222 Unit 4 questions, answered
Which sequence for the first hours should I follow?
The one your classroom teaches, and sending that material along with the assignment page helps. Texts divide the first hours into different segments and disagree about what belongs in a single entry, so a record built on another version reads as an error even where the observations are sound. If your sources conflict, name both and state which the record used.
Do I record measurements the case does not give?
No. Where the scenario is silent, the entry says the measurement was not recorded, which is itself information a later reader needs. Inventing a value to complete a line is checked against the rest of the case and undermines everything around it. Figures for newborns also differ between sources, so anything numeric you use should be attributable to your own materials.
Is the mother's record part of this assignment?
It depends what your section asks for. Many keep the two records separate, since they are documented under different headings, while still asking the newborn record to show the points at which the pair were together. Where both are wanted in one document, run them as parallel strands with their own timings rather than merging entries, because the two patients are recorded differently.
Where can I find a free NSG 222 Unit 4 sample paper?
The complete NSG 222 Unit 4 newborn transition record is posted here free, six timed hours with the fast breathing explained. A record for a different newborn can be prepared on request.
Is fast breathing normal in a newborn?
A rate up to about 60 breaths a minute can be normal, and brief faster breathing can occur during transition. This sample checks saturation, work of breathing and temperature and watches the rate settle, with clear signs that would need escalation.