The practical nurse notes that the amniotic fluid is greenish in color after membranes rupture. What is the cause of this discoloration?

The practical nurse notes that the amniotic fluid is greenish in color after membranes rupture. What is the cause of this discoloration?

• A. Blood from placenta previa
• B. Uric acid from the fetus urine
• C. Meconium from fetal distress
• D. Presence of Chlamydia

Answer: (C)

Greenish amniotic fluid after membranes rupture means the fluid is meconium-stained. Meconium is the fetus’s first stool, and it’s released into the amniotic fluid in response to fetal distress or sometimes post-term maturity. The green color comes from bile pigments in the meconium. This discoloration signals potential fetal hypoxia and raises concern for meconium aspiration at birth, so you’d closely monitor the fetal heart rate and be prepared for neonatal resuscitation if needed. It’s not caused by placental bleeding (which would look like bright red vaginal bleeding), uric acid from fetal urine, or an infection such as Chlamydia, which don’t give the amniotic fluid a green tint.

Greenish amniotic fluid after membranes rupture means the fluid is meconium-stained. Meconium is the fetus’s first stool, and it’s released into the amniotic fluid in response to fetal distress or sometimes post-term maturity. The green color comes from bile pigments in the meconium. This discoloration signals potential fetal hypoxia and raises concern for meconium aspiration at birth, so you’d closely monitor the fetal heart rate and be prepared for neonatal resuscitation if needed. It’s not caused by placental bleeding (which would look like bright red vaginal bleeding), uric acid from fetal urine, or an infection such as Chlamydia, which don’t give the amniotic fluid a green tint.