Pregnancy Terms and Definitions
The following pregnancy terms are important for you to know when you're pregnant. Knowing the lingo and being able to understand what your caregiver is talking about is so important. Being educated about your body keeps you in control.
- Afterbirth-afterbirth is another name for the delivery of the placenta these are membranes that are expelled from the uterus after delivering the baby. The placenta detaches itself from the uterine wall after the baby is delivered. You actually deliver the placenta and this is called the afterbirth.
- Amniotomy-artificially breaking the bag of waters.
- Amniotic fluid-this is the liquid that the baby is in inside the membranes. This is saltwater type liquid that forms around the 4th week.
- Anterior presentation-this term refers to the actual position of the baby at birth. The anterior presentation is the most common, where the baby's face is actually facing the mother's backside. Or in other words, the back of the head is facing the pubic bone. See posterior presentation also.
- APGAR-this term refers the the test/rating of your baby after birth. Each item is given two points.
- Appearance or color
- Pulse/heart rate
- Grimace or responsiveness (reflex)
- Activity/muscle tone
- Respiration/breathing
- Bag of Waters-the membranes that surround the baby in the womb, also known as amniotic sac containing amniotic fluid.
- Birth Canal- this is the vagina, the term is used like this because the baby passes through the vagina
- Braxton-Hicks contractions- these are practice contractions that your body is giving you to warm you up for labor. Some mom's may feel these around the 6th or 7th month. You will actually feel a tightening up of your uterus and you may actually see your belly tighten up.
- Cervix-the lower section of the uterus that protrudes into the vagina, this area dilates during labor to allow the baby to pass through. Think of the cervix like the neck part of a turtleneck shirt, where the neck stretches for the baby to pass through. Find more information about cervix dilation
- Dilation-is used to described the act of your cervix opening to accomodate the baby. This usually described in centimeters. Dilation should reach 10cm before a mother starts pushing
- Ectopic Pregancy-this is where the fertilized egg does not continue down the fallopian tube in the uterus, it actually implants or settles in the fallopian tube causing the tube to stretch causing severe pain and can cause internal bleeding. Please read more about this here....More on Ectopic Pregancy
- Effacement-this is the term used to describe the thinning of the cervix. During pregnancy the cervix is shaped like a cone, and with labor, the "cone" thins down to a "cup" Effacement is described in percentages. If your cervix has not begun to thin, then you are said to be at 0% effacement, halfway effaced is 50% and 100% means that it has totally thinned out and you are ready to push.
- Episiotomy-surgical incision in the perineum
- Kegel Exercises- The Kegel exercises strengthen you pelvic floor muscles. This is the muscle that if kept strong, will help you to not leak urine after the baby. Make sure you do your Kegels! Having strong pelvic floor muscles helps with labor. If you don't know what these are, it's the muscle you contract to stop your flow of urine.
- Meconium staining-Appearance of a bowel movement by the baby. Shows up on the amniotic fluid. Be aware of the color of the amniotic fluid when the waters break.
- Mucous plug- mucous that is passed as the mother begins to dilate. May show up as actual mucous or a stringy gooey substance. Can also be a blood tinged discharge. Usually after this show appears, labor begins in the next 3 days, but can sometimes show up to a week before.
- Pelvic Floor- The pelvic floor refers to the muscle in the vagina, it's a hammock like muscle that attached at the pubic bone and tretches through to your coccyx, or tailbone. This muscle supports the pelvic organs. It's important to excercies this muscle not only during pregnancy, but througout a womans life.
- Placenta Previa-This is when the placenta is actually lying over top of the cervix, or covering any part of the cervix.
- Placental abruption- this occurs when the placenta detaches either partially or fully from the uterine wall.
- Preeclampsia- this is a condition that usually happens later in the pregnancy. It is accompanied by sever swelling of the face or hands or both, and high blood pressure. This condition is also called toxemia. Left untreated this can be dangerous. This must be watched closely by your caregiver.
- Shoulder dystocia-this is when during labor, the baby's shoulders are actually unable to be delivered due to either a wrong position or a large baby.
