A woman at 36 weeks’ gestation is admitted to the hospital to receive a tocolytic medication in an attempt to stop labor. In add
ition, betamethasone (Celestone) is prescribed to enhance fetal lung maturity. The prescription reads: administer betamethasone 12 my IM daily for 3 days. The betamethasone comes in a vial labeled 6mg/mL. How many millimeters should the nurse administer each day?
According to the prescription, <em><u>12 mg of betamethasone</u></em> should be given daily for three days.
The prescription also says that betamethasone comes in 6 mg/mL per vial. Therefore, to give 12 mg of betamethasone, 2 vials (each vial having 1 ml) of betamethasone must be administered by the nurse.
