Skip to content
Free NREMT practice questionsFree AEMT practice questions · Medical/Obstetrics/Gynecology

10 free AEMT practice questions: Obstetric and Gynecologic Emergencies

These are real questions from the same bank the app draws from. Each one is written to the NREMT AEMT content specifications and kept inside the AEMT scope of practice. Pick an answer and you get the full rationale, including why the other three options are wrong.

Work through all 10, then move on to the next topic. When you want the full picture, the free AEMT diagnostic covers every topic in one sitting. No account needed for any of it.

Question 1 of 10

A 31-year-old patient with heavy postpartum bleeding has two large-bore intravenous lines running warmed isotonic crystalloid in measured increments. The vital signs are BP 92/56, P 120, R 22, and SpO₂ 97% on room air. Which endpoint should guide how much fluid is given?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · The patient is awake and has a palpable radial pulse

This patient is in hemorrhagic shock from heavy postpartum bleeding. The pressure is 92/56 and the pulse is 120. IV fluid does not stop the bleeding. Fluid only keeps the patient perfused until the hospital can stop it. That's why you dose fluid against the patient, not against a number. Give it in measured amounts and check mental status, skin, and the radial pulse between each one. An awake patient with a pulse you can feel at the wrist is perfusing. Awake with a radial pulse is the endpoint for the fluid. Pushing fluid past that point gives volume the patient does not need. The extra fluid dilutes the clotting factors that are left, and the blood clots worse. Pregnancy expands the blood volume. The bigger blood volume lets this patient hold a normal-looking pressure through serious blood loss and then drop quickly. Keep reassessing between every increment.

Why the others are wrong

The systolic pressure has climbed to at least 120: A systolic of 120 is a normal pressure, so reaching it looks like fixing the patient. Pushing the pressure to a preset number gives more fluid than this patient needs. The extra fluid dilutes the clotting factors while the bleeding continues.

The heart rate has settled below 100 for two readings: A fast heart rate is an early shock sign, and a rate coming down is reassuring. Like the systolic in option A, a heart rate under 100 is still a number target. The endpoint is perfusion, meaning awake with a radial pulse. Running fluid until the rate drops can push volume past the point where this patient is already perfusing.

The full 20 milliliters per kilogram has been infused: The full 20 milliliters per kilogram is the taught bolus volume. A bolus is something you give and then reassess. The full amount is not a quota you have to finish. This patient can reach the endpoint before the full volume is in.

Question 2 of 10

A 22-year-old patient at 36 weeks of gestation has a single arm protruding through the vaginal opening. Contractions are 3 minutes apart. A paramedic unit is 10 minutes out and the receiving hospital is 18 minutes away. The vital signs are BP 116/70, P 106, R 20, and SpO₂ 98% on room air. Which action is indicated?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Transport immediately with the hips elevated and notify en route

This patient has a limb presentation, with one arm coming out of the vaginal opening. A limb presentation cannot be delivered in the field. The fix is an operating room, and no prehospital provider at any level carries what this patient needs. An abnormal delivery is a rapid transport problem, not a reason to call for a higher level of care. Calling a unit, waiting for an intercept, or holding on scene for advanced care only costs time. Place the patient knee-chest, or on her back with the hips elevated. Cover the arm with a moist sterile dressing. Get vascular access on the way if it does not slow you down, and notify the hospital while you are moving.

Why the others are wrong

Wait for the paramedic unit to arrive before leaving the scene: Getting a higher level of care on scene is the right move on a lot of calls that are outside your training. A paramedic carries nothing that delivers a limb presentation either. Waiting 10 minutes for that unit costs time the baby does not have.

Apply gentle traction on the arm to complete the delivery: Gentle traction sounds safe when you can see the arm. This baby cannot be delivered vaginally with an arm presenting. Pulling on the arm injures the baby and does not change the presentation.

Push the arm back through the opening and coach the patient to push: Pushing the arm back in looks like a way to turn an abnormal presentation into a normal one. Pushing a presenting part back in is never done in the field. Coaching the patient to push drives a baby that cannot deliver harder into the pelvis.

Question 3 of 10

The fetal head delivers and a loop of umbilical cord is found wrapped around the neck. The loop will not slip over the head and will not loosen enough for the shoulders to pass. The patient is 26 years old and at term. Which action is indicated?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Place two clamps on the cord, cut between them, and deliver

This newborn has a tight nuchal cord, which is a cord wrapped tightly around the neck. The loop will not slip over the head, and it will not loosen enough for the shoulders to pass. After the head delivers, you run a finger around the neck to feel for a loop of cord. A loose loop slips over the head, and the delivery goes on as normal. A tight loop is different, because the body is about to deliver against it. Place two clamps on the cord, cut between them, and deliver the newborn right away. This is the one time in a field delivery that you cut the cord before the body is out. Once the cord is cut, the newborn has no placental circulation. The delivery and the newborn assessment have to happen without a pause.

Why the others are wrong

Wait for the next contraction to loosen the loop before continuing: Contractions have moved this delivery along so far, so letting the next contraction do the work sounds reasonable. A contraction pushes the body forward against a loop that will not move. The loop gets tighter, and the newborn loses time it does not have.

Apply traction on the head to create slack under the loop: Pulling on the head to make slack is the obvious fix for something wrapped too tight. Traction does not loosen a nuchal cord. Traction injures the brachial plexus and the cervical spine, and the loop stays just as tight as it was.

Support the head in place and transport with the loop undisturbed: Transport is the right move for most abnormal deliveries. As the body delivers, a tight loop will strangle the newborn or tear. The delivery is happening now, and it cannot wait for the hospital.

Question 4 of 10

A 27-year-old patient at 34 weeks of gestation is secured to a long board after a highway collision and reports lightheadedness. The board cannot be tilted on the cot mount in this ambulance. The vital signs are BP 90/56, P 118, R 22, and SpO₂ 97% on room air. Which action is indicated?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Push the uterus up and toward the left with both hands

This patient has supine hypotensive syndrome, which is the uterus pressing on the inferior vena cava. The patient is 34 weeks pregnant, flat on a long board, and lightheaded, with a pressure of 90/56 and a pulse of 118. Your goal is to get the uterus off the vena cava. If the patient does not need spinal precautions, roll her onto her left side. If she is on a board that can tilt, tilt the whole board 15 to 30 degrees to the left. Put padding under the right side and keep her spine in line with the board. This board cannot be tilted, so you move the uterus with your hands. Place one or both hands on the right side of the abdomen. Push the uterus up and toward her left, and hold it there. You push toward the left because the inferior vena cava runs on the right side of the spine.

Why the others are wrong

Loosen the straps and turn the patient onto the left side: Left lateral is the right position for almost every other pregnant patient. This patient is strapped to a long board after a highway collision. Loosening the straps and rolling her undoes her spinal precautions. Pushing the uterus by hand gets it off the vena cava and keeps her packaged.

Raise the foot end of the cot to improve venous return: Raising the legs is a common move when the pressure drops, and it does move some blood toward the core. The patient stays flat, though, so the uterus stays on the vena cava. The cause of the low pressure is still there.

Press the uterus downward toward the pelvis with both hands: Moving the uterus is the right idea, and C pushes it the wrong way. Pressing down drives the uterus harder onto the vessels behind it. The uterus has to go up and to the left, because the inferior vena cava runs on the right side of the spine.

Question 5 of 10

A 35-year-old patient at 32 weeks of gestation is pulseless and apneic on the floor of a store. Compressions are under way, the automated external defibrillator has analyzed, and an advised shock has been delivered. A third provider is available. Which action is indicated for the uterus during the resuscitation?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · The uterus is pushed up and toward the left by one provider

This patient is in cardiac arrest at 32 weeks of pregnancy. An arrest in a pregnant patient past about 20 weeks is a standard arrest with one change. Compressions go in the usual place, at the usual depth and rate. Ventilations are normal. You use the automated external defibrillator the same way you would on anyone else. The one change is that a provider moves the uterus off the inferior vena cava by hand. The provider pushes the uterus up and toward the patient's left. You have a third provider on this call, so that provider does the uterine displacement. Tilting is for a pregnant patient who still has a pulse. During CPR, a tilted torso makes good compressions impossible. After every analysis, compressions start again right away, whether a shock was given or not.

Why the others are wrong

The whole torso is tilted 15 to 30 degrees to the left: Tilting the torso is what you do for a pregnant patient who still has a pulse. This patient is pulseless. Tilting the torso during CPR makes good compressions impossible, and losing compression quality costs more than the tilt gains.

A wedge is placed under the right hip and the board is tilted: A wedge under the right hip is standard for transporting a patient late in pregnancy. Any tilt angles the chest away from the person doing compressions. A chest that is not flat cannot be compressed to the right depth.

No uterine displacement is performed until a pulse returns: Focusing only on compressions and the defibrillator sounds like good arrest care. A uterus lying on the vena cava blocks blood from getting back to the heart. Compressions cannot move blood that is not returning to the heart. Uterine displacement is part of the resuscitation, and it does not wait for a pulse.

Question 6 of 10

A 31-year-old patient at 32 weeks of gestation reports a headache that has not eased with acetaminophen, along with blurred vision and pain under the right rib margin. The face and hands are swollen. The vital signs are BP 166/112, P 92, R 18, and SpO₂ 98% on room air. Which condition do these findings describe?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Preeclampsia with severe features

This patient has preeclampsia with severe features. Preeclampsia is new high blood pressure after 20 weeks of pregnancy. You look for a group of findings, not just one number. Watch for a headache that will not ease, vision changes like blurring or spots, and pain in the epigastric area or the right upper quadrant. This patient has each of those. The headache did not ease with acetaminophen, the vision is blurred, and the pain is under the right rib margin. The right upper quadrant pain comes from the capsule of the liver stretching. Swelling of the face and hands supports preeclampsia, but normal pregnancy causes swelling too. Severe features start at a systolic of 160 or higher or a diastolic of 110 or higher. This patient's pressure is 166/112, which is above both. Eclampsia is the next step on the same spectrum. A seizure is what defines eclampsia, not how high the pressure is.

Why the others are wrong

Chronic hypertension in pregnancy: A pressure this high can come from long-standing hypertension. New high blood pressure after 20 weeks is preeclampsia until proven otherwise. Chronic hypertension does not bring a headache, blurred vision, and right upper quadrant pain with it.

A hypertensive response to labor pain: Pain does raise blood pressure, and this patient is in pain. Labor pain does not cause blurred vision, facial swelling, and pain over the liver. Nothing in this question says the patient is in labor at all.

Eclampsia in its early stage: These findings are severe, and eclampsia is the more serious name on the same spectrum. Eclampsia is defined by a seizure, not by how high the pressure goes. This patient has not had a seizure, so she has not reached eclampsia yet.

Question 7 of 10

A newborn delivered at term is 5 minutes old, has a strong cry, and moves all extremities actively. A pulse oximeter probe is on the right wrist. The vital signs are P 148, R 46, and SpO₂ 83% on room air. Which action is indicated?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Continue routine care and recheck the saturation at 10 minutes

This newborn is transitioning normally, and an SpO₂ of 83% at 5 minutes is on target. A newborn starts life with a saturation around 60% and climbs over the first 10 minutes. The targets are about 60 to 65% at 1 minute, 65 to 70% at 2, and 70 to 75% at 3. The targets keep climbing to 75 to 80% at 4 minutes, 80 to 85% at 5, and 85 to 95% by 10. This newborn has a strong cry, moves all extremities, and has a heart rate of 148. Comparing a newborn saturation to adult normals is the most common way to over-treat a newborn who is doing fine. The probe belongs on the right hand or wrist, which is preductal. That's because the right subclavian artery comes off the aorta before the ductus arteriosus. Breathing, tone, and heart rate still decide what you do. Continue routine care and recheck the saturation at 10 minutes.

Why the others are wrong

Give blow-by oxygen until the saturation reaches 95%: Blow-by oxygen treats hypoxia, and 83% would be an emergency in anyone older than a newborn. Newborn targets climb minute by minute. At 5 minutes of life, 80 to 85% is on target, so this reading is normal transition and not hypoxia.

Begin positive pressure ventilations with room air: Positive pressure ventilation is for a newborn who is apneic, gasping, or has a heart rate under 100. This newborn is crying strongly with a heart rate of 148.

Move the probe to the left wrist and recheck the reading: Moving the probe to recheck a surprising number is a good habit with most monitors. On a newborn, the right hand or wrist is the correct site because the right side is preductal. The left wrist gives you a reading that is lower and harder to interpret.

Question 8 of 10

A newborn delivered at term has thick secretions visible in the mouth and is not moving air well after drying and stimulation. Which action is indicated?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Suction the mouth first and then the nose with a bulb syringe

This newborn needs suctioning, and the order is mouth first, then nose, with a bulb syringe. The newborn has thick secretions in the mouth and is not moving air well after drying and stimulation. Those findings mean suctioning is actually needed here, not just routine. Suctioning the nose sets off a reflex gasp. If the mouth is still full, the gasp pulls the mouth secretions down into the trachea. Stimulating the nose can also cause vagal bradycardia. Clear the mouth first, then the nose. Use a soft bulb syringe sized for a newborn, not a rigid catheter. Keep each attempt to 5 seconds or less.

Why the others are wrong

Suction the nose before the mouth to clear the nasal passage: A newborn is an obligate nose breather, so clearing the nose can look like the priority. Suctioning the nose first sets off a gasp. The gasp pulls the secretions in the mouth down into the trachea, so the mouth gets cleared first.

Suction the mouth and then the nose with a rigid catheter: Mouth then nose is the right order, and a rigid catheter is right for an adult or a child with thick secretions. A rigid catheter is too rough for newborn tissue and can cause vagal bradycardia. A newborn this size gets a bulb syringe.

Suction each nostril with a bulb syringe for 10 seconds: The bulb syringe is the right device for a newborn. Ten seconds is the time limit for a child, and the limit for an infant is 5 seconds. Starting in the nostrils also skips the mouth-first order this newborn needs.

Question 9 of 10

A patient develops heavy vaginal bleeding after delivering the placenta, and the uterus feels boggy on palpation. In addition to fundal massage and oxygen, what AEMT-level intervention should be initiated?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Establish intravenous access with an isotonic crystalloid

This patient has heavy bleeding after delivery from uterine atony. The uterus feels boggy after the placenta delivered. Atony means the muscle of the uterus is not contracting down. Normally, that contraction squeezes the arteries where the placenta was attached and closes them off. A soft uterus leaves those arteries open, and they keep bleeding. Fundal massage works to make the uterus contract. While you wait for the massage to work, you have to support her blood volume. Start an IV and run an isotonic crystalloid, like normal saline or lactated Ringer's. The isotonic fluid supports preload and perfusion through transport.

Why the others are wrong

Establish intravenous access using D5W as the resuscitation fluid: Starting an IV here is right, but D5W is the wrong fluid. D5W is used to carry drugs or to give free water. Once the body uses up the dextrose, what is left acts like free water. Free water moves into the cells instead of staying in the blood vessels. D5W cannot hold up the volume this bleeding patient needs.

Begin oral rehydration and reassess again in 30 minutes: Oral fluids with a recheck later fit a stable, mildly dehydrated patient who can keep fluids down. Gastroenteritis and heat exhaustion are examples. This patient has heavy vaginal bleeding and a boggy uterus. Bleeding this fast can outrun what the gut can absorb. A 30 minute wait can let her get worse, and fluid in her stomach adds aspiration risk if she does.

Pack the vagina with dressings to control the bleeding directly: Dressings packed onto a bleeding surface control external wounds you can press on. This bleeding comes from the uterus itself, above the cervix. Dressings placed in the vagina never reach the source. They only hide how much blood she is still losing. Fundal massage is what reaches the uterus directly.

Question 10 of 10

An AEMT is treating a pregnant patient who begins seizing en route to the hospital, with a known history of severe hypertension and pre-eclampsia. Which positioning is most appropriate for this patient?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Left lateral position

This patient has pre-eclampsia and is now seizing, which means eclampsia. When a pregnant patient lies flat, the uterus presses on the inferior vena cava. The inferior vena cava carries blood back to the heart. With the uterus pressing on that vein, less blood gets back to the heart. Lying on the left side shifts the uterus off the inferior vena cava. Left lateral also lets secretions or vomit drain out of the mouth instead of pooling in the airway. Left lateral protects her airway and keeps blood flowing back to the heart while you deal with the seizure.

Why the others are wrong

Supine with legs elevated: Supine with the legs raised is a position used for a hypotensive patient. This patient has severe hypertension. Lying flat leaves the uterus sitting right on the inferior vena cava. Supine also does nothing to protect the airway while she is actively seizing.

Prone position: Prone puts her face down. Face down, you cannot reach her airway or watch her breathing while she seizes. On her left side, her airway stays where you can reach it and secretions drain out of her mouth.

Right lateral position: Right lateral protects the airway the same way left lateral does. The inferior vena cava runs on the right side of the spine. Lying on the right side still lets the uterus press on the inferior vena cava, so blood return to the heart does not improve.

Find out which AEMT topics are costing you points

Ten questions on one topic tell you about that topic. The free diagnostic covers every AEMT topic and breaks your results down by topic, so you know what to drill next. No card, no signup to try it.

Take the free AEMT diagnostic

More free AEMT practice questions by topic