Question | Answer |
Abortion | The termination of the pregnancy before the fetus reaches the age of viability (20 weeks). |
Adnexal | Adjacent. |
Amenorrhea | The absence of cessation of the menstrual period. Amenorrhea occurs normally before puberty, during pregnancy, and after menopause. |
Atypical | Deviation from the normal. |
Braxton Hicks contractions | Intermittent and irregular painless uterine contractions that occur throughout pregnancy. They occur more frequently toward the end of pregnancy and are sometimes mistaken for true labor pains. |
Cervix | The lower narrow end of the uterus that opens into the vagina. |
Colposcopy | Examination of the cervix using a colposcope (a lighted instrument with a magnifying lens). |
Cytology | The science that deals with the study of cells, including their organs, structure, functions, and pathology. |
Dilation (of the cervix) | The stretching of the external os from an opening a few millimeters wide to an opening large enough to allow the passage of an infant (approximately 10 cm) |
Dysmenorrhea | Pain associated with the menstrual period. |
Dyspareunia | Pain in the vagina or pelvis experienced by a woman during sexual intercourse. |
Dysplasia | The growth of abnormal cells. Dysplasia is a precancerous condition that may or may not develop into caner. |
Ectocervix | The part of the cervix that projects into the vagina and is lined with stratified squamous epithelium. |
Effacement | Thinning and shortening of the cervical canal. Occurs in late pregnancy, during labor, or both. The purpose is to permit the passage of the infant into the birth canal. |
Embryo | The child in utero from the time of conception to the beginning of the first trimester. |
Endocervix | The mucous membrane lining the cervical canal. |
Engagement | The entrance of the fetal head or the presenting part of the pelvic inlet. |
Expected date of delivery (EDD) | Projected birth of the infant. |
External os | The opening of the cervical canal of the uterus into the vagina. |
Fetal heart rate | The number of times per minute the featl heart beats. |
Fetal heart tones | The sounds of the heartbeat of the fetus heard through the mother's abdominal wall. |
Fetus | The child in utero from the third month after conception to birth; during the first 2 months of development, it is called embryo. |
Fundus | The dome-shaped upper portion of the uterus between the fallopian tubes. |
Gestation | The period of intrauterine development from conception to birth; the period of pregnancy. The average pregnancy lasts about 280 days, or 40 weeks from the date of conception to childbirth. |
Gestational age | The age of the fetus between conception and birth. |
Gravidity | The total number of pregnancies a woman has had regardless of duration, including current pregnancy. |
Gynecology | The branch of medicine that deals with the diseases of reproductive organs of women. |
Infant | A child from birth to 12 months of age. |
Internal os | The internal opening of the cervical canal into the uterus. |
Lochia | A discharge from the uterus after delivery that consists of blood, tissue, white blood cells, and some bacteria. |
Menopause | The permanent cessation of menstrual period, which usually occurs between the ages of 45 and 55. |
Menorrhagia | Excessive bleeding during a menstrual period, in the number of days or the amount of blood or both. Also called dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB) |
Metrorrhagia | Bleeding between menstrual periods. |
Multigravida | A woman who has been pregnant more than once. |
Multipara | A woman who has completed two or more pregnancies to the age of fetal viability regardless of whether they ended in live infants or stillbirth. |
Nullipara | A woman who has not carried a pregnancy to the point of fetal viability (20 weeks gestation). |
Obstetrics | The branch of medicine concerned with the care of the woman during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartal period. |
Parity | The condition of having borne offspring regardless of the outcome. |
Perimenopause | Before the onset of menopause, the phase during which the woman with regular periods changes to irregular cycles and increased periods of amenorrhea. |
Perineum | The external region between the vaginal orifice and the anus in a female and between the scrotum and the anus in a male. |
Position | The relation of the presenting part of the fetus to the maternal pelvis. |
Postpartum | Occurring after childbirth. |
Preeclampsia | A major complication of pregnancy, the cause is unknown, increasing hypertension, albuminuria, and edema. If untreated can develop into eclampsia, which could cause maternal convulsions and coma. |
Prenatal | Before birth. |
Presentation | Indication of the part of the fetus that is closest to the cervix and is delivered first. A cephalic presentation is a delivery where the head comes first. A breech presentation is delivery in which the buttocks or feet are presented instead of the head. |
Preterm birth | Delivery occurring between 20 and 37 weeks of gestation regardless of whether the child was born alive or stillborn. |
Primigravida | A woman who is pregnant for the first time. |
Primipara | A woman who has carried a pregnancy to fetal viability (20 weeks of gestation) for the first time regardless of whether the infant was born alive or stillborn. |
Puerperium | The period of time, usually 4 to 6 weeks after delivery, in which the uterus and the body systems are returning to normal. |
Quickening | The first movements of the fetus in utero as felt by the mother, which usually occurs between 16 and 20 weeks of gestation and are felt consistently thereafter. |
Risk factor | Anything that increases an individual's chance of developing a disease. Some risk factors (e.g., smoking) can be avoided, but others cannot (e.g., age and family history). |
Term birth | Delivery occurring after 37 weeks of gestation regardless of whether the infant was born alive or stillborn. |
Toxemia | A condition that can occur in pregnant women that includes preeclampsia and eclampsia. If preeclampsia goes undiagnosed or is not satisfactorily controlled, it could develop into eclampsia, characterized by convulsions and coma. |
Trimester | Three months, or one third, of the gestational period of pregnancy. |
Vulva | The region of the external female genital organs. |