NU143 Unit 6 Newborn Assessment Note Example

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This NU143 Unit 6 sample is a newborn assessment note for a composite girl born at 39 weeks, weighing 3,280 grams, whose axillary temperature fell to 36.3 C ninety minutes after birth following an early bath. It was written for Purdue Global NU 143, Maternal Infant Nursing, in the prelicensure BSN sequence. Every finding is read against expected transition values: heart rate, breathing, color with normal acrocyanosis, tone and skin. The note explains how wet newborns lose heat, why cold stress raises glucose and oxygen use, records a glucose of 44 managed by feeding, skin-to-skin warming, a recheck an hour later and a prevention plan for the rest of her first day.

CourseNU143 Maternal Infant Nursing
UnitUnit 6
Paper typeNewborn assessment note
LengthAbout 620 words, 5 pages double-spaced
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolPurdue University Global
ProgramBSN (prelicensure)
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for NU143 Unit 6

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Ninety Minutes Old and 36.3 Degrees: A Newborn Assessment Note Reading a Composite Term Girl's Transition Against Expected Values After She Cooled During Her First Bath, With the Warming and Glucose Check That Followed

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

NU143: Maternal Infant Nursing

Unit 6 Newborn Assessment Note

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The newborn is composite; values are bracketed where illustrative, and normal ranges follow common newborn nursing references.

What this part is doingEach finding is read against the expected value for a newborn in transition, so the abnormal one stands out with its reason.
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Context

Baby girl of [Ms. D.], composite, born by spontaneous vaginal birth at [0815] at 39 weeks and 1 day. Apgar scores [8] at one minute and [9] at five. Birth weight [3,280] g. Mother's labor uncomplicated; group B strep negative; no maternal fever. Breastfed at [0840] for fifteen minutes. Bathed at [0930] at the parents' request; the note is written at [0945].

Assessment at 0945

Temperature: [36.3] C axillary, below the expected range of about [36.5] to [37.5] C. Heart rate: [152], regular, within the expected [110] to [160]. Respirations: [56], unlabored, no grunting or retractions, within the expected [30] to [60]. Color: pink centrally; hands and feet bluish, which is expected acrocyanosis in the first day. Tone: flexed, active; strong cry. Skin: some peeling at ankles; small amount of vernix in creases. Glucose: checked because of cold stress, [44] mg/dL by heel stick. Feeding: rooting and sucking on her hand.

Interpretation

All findings fit normal transition except the temperature. Newborns lose heat quickly through evaporation, especially when wet after a bath, through conduction to cold surfaces, convection from drafts and radiation to cool walls. Cold stress makes the baby burn brown fat and glucose to make heat, increasing oxygen use and risking low blood sugar and, if prolonged, breathing difficulty. Her glucose of [44] in the first hours is within the range many protocols accept for a healthy term baby who can feed, but cold stress is a reason to recheck (Perry et al., 2022). Guidance on newborn glucose in the first hours supports feeding and rechecking rather than immediate treatment for an asymptomatic term baby at this level (Adamkin, 2011).

The bath did not cause a problem by itself; the problem was a wet baby, ninety minutes old, losing heat faster than she could make it.

What this part is doingThe glucose check is linked to the cold stress, showing why it was done and why it was rechecked.
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Nursing Actions

Dried her thoroughly, placed her skin-to-skin on her mother's chest with a warm blanket over both and a hat on her head at [0950]; offered the breast, and she latched for ten minutes; room drafts reduced. Parents taught why the baby cooled and how skin-to-skin warms her.

Reassessment at 1050

Temperature [36.8] C; heart rate [140]; respirations [48]; glucose [58] mg/dL after the feed. Color pink, tone good.

What this part is doingThe reassessment uses the same measures as the first check, so recovery can be seen directly.
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Why the Other Findings Were Reassuring

A heart rate and breathing rate inside the newborn ranges, with no grunting, flaring or retractions, showed that the cold stress had not yet affected her breathing. Bluish hands and feet with pink lips and trunk are expected in the first day and do not mean low oxygen; central blue color would. Her active tone and rooting showed she was ready to feed, which mattered because feeding is both the treatment for borderline glucose and a source of warmth through skin contact. Taking an axillary temperature in a dry armpit, held for the time the device requires, avoids a falsely low reading (Potter et al., 2023).

Documentation Sentence

"[0945] Axillary temp 36.3 C after bath, other VS WNL for age, glucose 44. Dried, skin-to-skin with mother, hat, breastfed 10 min. [1050] Temp 36.8, glucose 58. Parents taught heat-loss prevention."

Prevention Going Forward

Delaying the first bath until temperature and feeding are well established, and keeping the baby skin-to-skin or swaddled with a hat, reduce the chance of cold stress in the first day.

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References

Adamkin, D. H. (2011). Postnatal glucose homeostasis in late-preterm and term infants. Pediatrics, 127(3), 575-579. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-3851

Perry, S. E., Hockenberry, M. J., Cashion, K., Alden, K. R., Olshansky, E., & Lowdermilk, D. L. (2022). Maternal child nursing care (7th ed.). Elsevier.

Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Stockert, P. A., & Hall, A. M. (2023). Fundamentals of nursing (11th ed.). Elsevier.

Reading the NU 143 Unit 6 instructions

Unit 6 usually asks for a note documenting a newborn's transition in the first hours, read against expected values. Prompts commonly want vital signs and physical findings with the normal range beside each, interpretation of any abnormal finding, nursing actions and a reassessment. Instructors look for accurate newborn ranges, recognition of normal variations such as acrocyanosis, and an explanation of why an abnormal finding matters physiologically. Actions should match the cause, and reassessment should use the same measures so recovery can be seen. Teaching the parents and a plan to prevent recurrence round out a strong note, and documentation should be concise enough to chart directly. Values are bracketed where illustrative.

How this NU143 Unit 6 example is built

The note opens with the birth details, Apgar scores, feeding and the bath at the parents' request. The assessment lists each finding with its expected range, flagging the low temperature and including a glucose drawn because of cold stress. Interpretation explains the four routes of heat loss and the metabolic cost of cold stress, citing the course text and newborn glucose guidance, with the highlighted line on a wet baby losing heat. A section explains why the other findings were reassuring. Nursing actions describe drying, skin-to-skin, a hat and a feed, and the reassessment repeats the same measures. A documentation sentence and a prevention plan close the note.

NU143 Unit 6 rubric: what earns full points

Newborn notes in NU 143 are scored on accurate ranges, interpretation, appropriate action and reassessment. Range credit requires correct expected values for temperature, heart rate and breathing, and recognition of normal variations. Interpretation carries considerable weight and rewards explaining why cold stress matters, including its effect on glucose and oxygen use. Action points go to warming measures matched to the routes of heat loss and to feeding as first treatment for a borderline glucose. Reassessment is credited when the same measures are repeated within a set time. Concise documentation, parent teaching with APA 7 references behind the ranges, round out the note. Repeating identical measures at the recheck lets graders see recovery directly.

NU143 Unit 6 help from the desk

Newborn notes often record a low temperature and the warming action without explaining why it matters, which leaves out the physiology graders want to see. Another frequent error is describing bluish hands and feet as abnormal, when acrocyanosis is expected in the first day. Some notes check glucose without saying why, or treat a borderline value in a feeding baby too aggressively. Many forget to recheck. List each finding beside its range, explain heat loss and its metabolic cost, warm the baby in ways that match the cause, feed first for a borderline glucose, recheck with the same measures and teach the parents how to prevent cooling. Note the time of each check.

Get an NU143 Unit 6 example written to your instructions

A cesarean birth, a mother with a fever in labor, a form with its own layout: send whatever your Unit 6 case involves, with the prompt and rubric, and the note follows that form with every finding ranged. The first custom sample is free, usually within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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NU143 Unit 6 questions, answered

Where can I find a free NU143 Unit 6 sample paper?

You can read the complete NU143 Unit 6 newborn assessment note here, reading transition against expected values, with cold stress explained, warming actions, a recheck and documentation, citing three sources. We can draft a newborn note from your clinical findings.

What temperature is normal for a newborn?

An axillary temperature of about 36.5 to 37.5 C. The sample baby's 36.3 C after a bath was below range and treated with drying, skin-to-skin contact and a hat.

Why is cold stress dangerous for a newborn?

The baby burns brown fat and glucose to make heat, increasing oxygen use and risking low blood sugar and, if prolonged, breathing difficulty.

Are blue hands and feet normal in a newborn?

Yes, in the first day. Acrocyanosis is expected while circulation adjusts. Blue lips or trunk, called central cyanosis, would not be normal.

How is a borderline glucose managed in a healthy term newborn?

For an asymptomatic baby who can feed, feeding and rechecking is the usual first step. The sample baby's glucose rose from 44 to 58 after breastfeeding.