Midwifery 

Terminology
 Midwifery Terminology
• Midwifery is the health science and the health
profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth,
and the postpartum period (including care of the
newborn), besides the sexual and reproductive
health of women throughout their lives.
• During learning of midwifery subjects or giving
care to pregnant women, you may come across
some common important words. Here’s a list of
common words that are described in this article.
Common Terminology Used in Midwifery
Gravida:
• The term gravida comes from the Latin word. It is used to describe
the total number of confirmed pregnancies a woman has had,
regardless of the outcome of the pregnancy. Depends on
conception, there are different types of gravida. Those are in the
below:
– 1. Nulligravida:
– A ‘’Nulligravida’ ’is a woman who has never been pregnant.
– 2. Primigravida:
– A ‘’Primigravida’’ is a woman who is pregnant for the first time
or has been pregnant one time.
– 3. Multigravida:
– A ‘’Multigravida’’ or ‘’Secundigravida’’ is a woman who has been
pregnant more than one time.
Para:
• Para refers to the total number of pregnancies that a woman has carried
past 20 weeks of pregnancy. This number includes both live births and
pregnancy losses after 20 weeks, such as stillbirths. Different types of para
are pointed out in the following:
– 1. Primipara:
– A ‘’Primiparous’’ is a woman who has been given birth once.
– 2. Multipara:
– A ‘’Multiparous’’ is a woman who has been given birth more than
once.
– 3. Nullipara:
– A ‘’Nulliparous’’is a woman who has not given birth previously
(regardless of outcome).
– 4. Grand Multipara:
– A Grand Multipara is a woman who has already delivered five or more
infants who have achieved a gestational age of 24 weeks or more.
– 5. Great Grand Multipara:
– A great grand multipara has delivered seven or more infants 24 weeks
of gestation.
Abortion:
• Termination of a pregnancy before the fetus is visible. Categories of abortion
1. Miscarriage:
– Spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus without any medical intervention when there is
a physical problem with a pregnancy
2. Induced Abortion:
– An abortion that is the result of any procedure done by a licensed physician or someone
under the supervision of a licensed physician to purposefully end a pregnancy is called
an induced abortion.
Stillbirth:
– Stillbirth as ‘a baby delivered with no signs of life known to have died of pregnancy’.
Intrauterine Fetal Death (IUD):
– Intrauterine death refers to babies with no signs of life in utero.
Categories of Term Pregnancy:
• Various categories of term pregnancy have mentioned below:
– 1. Preterm/Premature birth:
– Premature birth is the birth of a baby at less than 37 weeks of gestational age.
– 2. Full Term Birth:
– Full term is the birth of a baby between 39 weeks through 40 weeks and 6 days.
– 3. Late Term:
– Birth of a baby between 41 weeks through 41 weeks, 6 days.
– 4. Post Term:
– Birth of a baby after 42 weeks and beyond.
• amniotic fluid – the liquid that surrounds a baby
in the uterus (also called ‘waters’)
• anaesthetic – a drug that gives total or partial
loss of sensation of a part or the whole of the
body
• anaesthetist – a doctor who specialises in giving
anaesthetic
• antenatal – a term that means ‘before birth’
(alternative terms are ‘prenatal’ and
‘antepartum’)
• antepartum haemorrhage – bleeding from the
vagina during pregnancy
• in utero – a term that means ‘inside the uterus’
• in vitro fertilisation (IVF) – the process used to conceive
a child outside the body, where a woman's eggs are
fertilised with a man’s sperm then placed in the
woman's uterus
• incontinence – an inability to control your bladder or
bowel movements
• induced – when a healthcare professional tries to
artificially ‘start’ a woman’s labour
• jaundice – a condition where a person’s skin and the
whites of their eyes take on a yellowish tinge. It is
caused by an excess of a chemical called bilirubin in the
blood and in newborns often resolves itself
• low birthweight – when a baby weighs less than 2,500
grams at birth
• multiple pregnancy – when a woman is carrying more than
one baby
• spontaneous labour – when labour starts by itself (without
medical help)
• theatre – an operating room in a hospital or other health
facility
• umbilical cord – the cord that connects the baby to the
placenta, allowing nutrients (vitamins and minerals) and
oxygen to be carried from the woman to her baby
• VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) – when a woman has a
vaginal birth after having had one or more previous
caesarean sections
 BREAKING TERMINOLOGY
1. PREFIXES
• Prefixes consist of one or more syllables
placed at the beginning of a word. A prefix
placed in front of a verb, adjective or noun for
modifying its meaning. Many prefixes do occur
frequently in medical language and studying
them is very important first step in learning
medical terminology.
2. SUFFIXES
• Suffixes consist of one or more syllables placed at
the end of a word and never stand alone. Suffixes
are added to the roots of the words to modify the
meanings. There are two general rules that may
be followed:
A. The last vowel of the root may be changed to
another vowel and another vowel may be inserted
between the root and a suffix that begins with a
consonant that called combining vowel.
• For example:
Cardiology = study of the heart
comes from: the root : cardi- means heart
the suffix : -logy means study of
B. When the suffix begins with a vowel,
the last vowel of the root may be
dropped before adding the suffix.
For example:
• carditis = inflammation of the heart
• comes from: the root : cardi- means
heart
the suffix : -it is means
inflammation
3. ROOTS AND COMBINING FORMS
• Root is the foundation or basic meaning of a
word. And the combining forms is the root
with a combining vowel added, attaching the
root to a suffix or another root.
4. ADDITIONAL ROOTS
AND COMBINING FORMS
• The following lists of
roots and combining
forms relate to action or
description.
• list verbal roots and combining form that show
an activity, a condition and an action
• Adjectival roots and combining form that
describe a quality or characteristic.
 ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviations and Symbols Commonly Used by Health
Practitioners
• AMB Ambulatory • neg negative
• BRP Bathroom privileges • P pulse
• CBR Complete bed rest • PE physical examination
• OOB Out of bed • PMH past medical history
• • R respirations
Abd Abdomen
• RX treatment
• BP Blood pressure
• Sx symptoms
• bx biopsy
• ad lib as desired
• Cc chief complaint
• AMA against medical orders
• c/o complains of • BM bowel movement
• do diagnosis • BP blood pressure
• GI gastrointestinal • dc (disc) discontinue
• GU genitourinary • do diagnosis
• h/o history of • DNR (no code) do not resuscitate
• HPI history of present illness • hs hour of sleep
• Imp Impressions • I&O intake and output
Abbreviations Means
• b.i.d.  bis in die • Twice a day
• t.i.d. • Three times a day
• q.i.d. • Four times a day
• p.r.n.  pro re nate • When necessary
• a.c.  ante cibum • Before meals
• p.c. • After meals
• p.o.  per os • Orally (through the mouth)
• tab. • Tablets
• Caps. • capsulesry two hours
THANK YOU