Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Primary Cesarean Section = first time a mother has delivered by Cesarean. (*1E)
Secondary Cesarean Section = mother has already had a previous Cesarean delivery, and this is a
repeat Cesarean birth. (*2E)
Perineal laceration = a natural tearing of the tissue between the vaginal opening and the rectum.
It used to be taught that it was better to cut an episiotomy than allow a tear, but in the last 25 years all the
research in OB literature has shown that lacerations are usually not as large as episiotomies, heal faster
than episiotomies, and are less painful than episiotomies.
There are 4 “degrees” of lacerations:
A first degree laceration 1E is minor and does not involve muscle.
A second degree laceration 2E is equivalent to a median episiotomy, and does involve some muscle.
A third degree laceration 3E involves some of the muscle of the rectal sphincter, and a fourth degree
laceration goes all the way through the rectal sphincter.
G = gravida.
The number of times the woman has been pregnant. Usually seen in association with:
P = the outcome of those pregnancies.
Examples:
G1P0 = the woman is pregnant for the first time and has not yet delivered
G1P1 = the woman has had one pregnancy and has delivered once
There can be 4 numbers after the “P” for “para.”
The first number is how many term pregnancies.
The second number is how many premature babies.
The third number is how many abortions or miscarriages
The fourth number is how many living children survive.
Examples:
G4P1111 = the woman is currently pregnant with her fourth pregnancy. She had one full-term delivery,
one premature delivery which did not survive, one abortion or miscarriage, and has one living child.
G3P2002 = the woman is pregnant with her third child and has two living full-term kids
G6P2124 = the woman is pregnant with her sixth pregnancy. She had 2 abortions or miscarriages, and
surviving children include 2 full-term pregnancies and one premie which survived. Since the last number
indicates she has 4 living kids, then you have to figure that one of the pregnancies was a twin pregnancy
and both the babies survived.
Sono, sonogram, ultrasound, scan = different terms for the same thing: looking at something inside the
body by bouncing high-frequency sound waves off the internal structures to get a picture of what’s inside.
Dating scan = Most accurate in first trimester. Used to get an EDC when the LMP is unknown or the
midwife finds that the uterus is smaller or larger than it should be, given the number of weeks from the
LMP.
Nuchal translucency = sonogram at 11 – 13 weeks of gestation which measures the thickness of the
fold of the neck on the back of the fetus. This can be quite difficult since the fetus is still very small at this
point, and may be moving around a lot. However, if the neck fold is abnormally thickened it is very
suspicious for a finding of Down Syndrome or another fetal abnormality. This sonogram is most often
paired with a blood test called the Ultrascreen, First Screen, or etc. to calculate a “risk score” for Down
Syndrome/associated anomalies. Remember, this is a SCREENING TEST ONLY. It cannot diagnose a
problem, only point out that a problem MAY BE there. The mother must have a definitive test ( amnio or
CVS) which actually examines the chromosomes of the fetus before anyone can say for sure that there is
truly a problem with the baby.
Anatomy scan = done at about 20 weeks gestation (as measured from LMP).
A very comprehensive sonogram to look for any fetal anomalies. Can usually detect abnormalities in the
brain, heart, bones (including spine) , facial features, kidneys, stomach, liver, genitals. Could not see an
internal problem, like cleft palate. Cannot by itself rule out Down Syndrome, as the thickness of the neck
fold which is apparent at 11 – 13 weeks has disappeared by this point in the pregnancy.
Amno = amniocentesis.
Another procedure, which, like CVS, is 100% accurate in diagnosing genetic problems because it can
obtain fetal tissue for analysis, but because it is an “invasive” procedure also incurs a risk of a 1-2% loss
of the pregnancy. It is done around the 16 week from LMP, and involves a needle penetrating the uterine
wall to obtain amniotic fluid. That amniotic fluid contains sloughed-off skin cells of the fetus, which can be
examined under the electron microscope to look at the number of chromosomes. 3 copies of the 21st
chromosome indicate Down Syndrome. Other trisomies exist but are much rarer.