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OB terminology I
Obstetric nursing terms
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Teratogen | Nongenetic factors that can produce malformations of the fetus. |
Ballottement | A technique of palpation to detect or examine a floating object in the body. In obstetrics, the fetus, when pushed, floats away and then returns to touch the examiner's fingers. |
Couvade | In some cultures, the male's observance of certain rituals and taboos to signify the transition to fatherhood. |
Goodell's sign | Softening of the cervix that occurs during the second month of pregnancy. |
Hegar's sign | A softening of the lower uterine segment found upon palpation in the second or third month of pregnancy. |
Linea nigra | The line of darker pigmentation extending from the umbilicus to the pubis noted in some women during the later months of pregnancy. |
McDonald's sign | A probable sign of pregnancy characterized by an ease in flexing the body of the uterus against the cervix. |
Morning sickness | A term that refers to the nausea and vomiting that a woman may experience in early pregnancy. This lay term is sometimes used because these symptoms frequently occur in the early part of the day and disappear within a few hours. |
Diastasis recti abdominis | Separation of the recti abdominis muscles along the median line. In women, it is seen with repeated childbirths or multiple gestations. In the newborn, it is usually caused by incomplete development. |
Mucous plug | A collection of thick mucus that blocks the cervical canal during pregnancy. Also called operculum. |
Physiologic anemia of pregnancy | Apparent anemia that results because during pregnancy the plasma volume increases more than the erythrocytes increase. |
Quickening | The first fetal movements felt by the pregnant woman, usually between 16 and 18 weeks' gestation. |
Striae | Stretch marks; shiny purplish lines that appear on the abdomen, breasts, thighs, and buttocks of pregnant women as a result of stretching the skin. |
Supine hypotensive syndrome(vena caval syndrome, aortocaval compression) | the enlarging uterus puts pressure on the vena cava when the woman is supine. interferes with returning blood flow & decreases B/P with accompanying dizziness, pallor, and clamminess, which can be corrected by having the woman lie on her left side |
Abortion | Loss of pregnancy before the fetus is viable outside the uterus; miscarriage. |
Antepartum | Time between conception and the onset of labor; usually used to describe the period during which a woman is pregnant. |
Estimated date of birth (EDB) | During a pregnancy, the approximate date when childbirth will occur; the "due date." |
Gestation | Period of intrauterine development from conception through birth; pregnancy. |
Gravida | A pregnant woman. |
Intrapartum | The time from the onset of true labor until the birth of the infant and expulsion of the placenta. |
Multigravida | Woman who has been pregnant more than once. |
Multipara | Woman who has had more than one pregnancy in which the fetus was viable. |
Nagele's rule | A method of determining the estimated date of birth (EDB): after obtaining the first day of the last menstrual period, subtract 3 months and add 7 days. |
Nulligravida | A woman who has never been pregnant. |
Nullipara | A woman who has not given birth to a viable fetus. |
Para | A woman who has borne offspring who reached the age of viability. |
Postpartum | After childbirth. |
Postterm labor | Labor that occurs after 42 weeks' gestation. |
Preterm labor | Preterm labor Labor occurring between 20 and 38 weeks of pregnancy. Also called premature labor. |
Primigravida | A woman who is pregnant for the first time. |
Primipara | A woman who has given birth to her first child (past the point of viability), whether or not that child is living or was alive at birth. |
Stillbirth | The birth of a dead infant. |
Term | The normal duration of pregnancy. |
Fetal movement record (FMR) | See Fetal activity diary (FAD). |
Kegel exercises | Perineal muscle tightening that strengthens the pubococcygeus muscle and increases its tone. |
Leukorrhea | Mucous discharge from the vagina or cervical canal that may be normal or pathologic, as in the presence of infection. |
Lightening | Moving of the fetus and uterus downward into the pelvic cavity. |
Pelvic tilt | Also called pelvic rocking; exercise designed to reduce back strain and strengthen abdominal muscle tone. |
Ptyalism | Excessive salivation. |
Folic acid | An important vitamin directly related to the outcome of pregnancy and to maternal and fetal health. |
Pica | The eating of substances not ordinarily considered edible or to have nutritive value. |
Emancipated minors | Minors who are legally considered to have assumed the rights of an adult. An adolescent may be considered emancipated if he or she is self-supporting and living away from home, married, pregnant, a parent, or in the military. |
Amniocentesis | Removal of amniotic fluid by insertion of a needle into the amniotic sac; amniotic fluid is used to assess fetal health or maturity. |
Biophysical profile (BPP) | Assessment of five variables in the fetus that help to evaluate fetal risk: breathing movement, body movement, tone, amniotic fluid volume, and fetal heart rate reactivity. |
Contraction stress test (CST) | A method of assessing the reaction of the fetus to the stress of uterine contractions. This test may be utilized when contractions are spontaneous or when contractions are induced by oxytocin challenge test (OCT)/ breast self-stimulation test (BSST). |
Nonstress test (NST) | An assessment method by which the reaction (or response) of the fetal heart rate to fetal movement is evaluated. |
Quadruple screen | The most widely used test to screen for Down syndrome (trisomy 21), trisomy 18, and neural tube defects (NTDs). |
Ultrasound | HiFi sound waves directed, through the use of a transducer, into the maternal abdomen. The ultrasonic sound waves reflected by the underlying structures of varying densities allow identification of various maternal and fetal tissues, bones, and fluids. |