PRC Midwives LE key terms

The recommended number and timing of antenatal check-ups for an uncomplicated pregnancy, with more frequent visits as pregnancy advances and immediate referral for danger signs.

Gravida counts every pregnancy a woman has had, including the current one; para counts pregnancies carried past the age of viability, regardless of outcome or number of babies.

A five-part obstetric history summary: gravida, term births, preterm births, abortions or miscarriages before viability, and living children. It separates outcomes that gravida and para alone cannot show.

The gestational age at which a fetus has a reasonable chance of surviving outside the uterus with available newborn care. It sets the boundary between abortion and preterm birth in obstetric recording.

The estimated date of birth calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period, usually by adding nine months and seven days, or estimated by ultrasound when dates are uncertain.

The first day of a woman's most recent menstrual bleeding, used as the starting point for dating pregnancy and calculating the expected date of delivery.

A bedside estimate of pregnancy duration from the height of the uterine fundus above the symphysis pubis, measured in centimeters and roughly matching weeks of gestation in mid-pregnancy.

Symptoms that require immediate referral or facility care, such as vaginal bleeding, severe headache with blurred vision, convulsions, high fever, leaking fluid, reduced fetal movement, and severe abdominal pain.

A pregnancy-specific disorder marked by new hypertension after twenty weeks with proteinuria or other organ involvement, threatening mother and fetus and capable of progressing to convulsions.

The occurrence of generalized convulsions in a woman with pre-eclampsia, an obstetric emergency requiring immediate stabilization, magnesium sulfate therapy, and urgent referral to a facility with surgical and newborn capability.

The drug of choice for preventing and controlling eclamptic convulsions, given by loading and maintenance doses with monitoring of respiratory rate, reflexes, and urine output for toxicity.

The systematic check at each antenatal contact for conditions or histories that make a woman unsuitable for care at a low-level facility, so that referral happens before an emergency develops.

A single-sheet graphic record of labor that plots cervical dilatation, fetal head descent, contractions, and maternal and fetal observations against time to reveal slow or obstructed progress.

The early part of the first stage, from the onset of regular contractions to more established cervical dilatation, when progress is slower and expectant support with monitoring is appropriate.

The portion of the first stage in which the cervix dilates progressively and more rapidly; plotting it on a partograph allows detection of abnormal progress that warrants referral.

Failure of the fetus to descend despite strong contractions because of a mechanical barrier, producing a prolonged labor with risk of uterine rupture, bladder injury, and fetal death.

A tear through the wall of the uterus, often during labor in a scarred or overdistended uterus, signaled by sudden pain, loss of contraction pattern, bleeding, and fetal heart rate deterioration.

Periodic or continuous listening to the fetal heartbeat during labor to detect distress, interpreted together with contraction pattern, amniotic fluid appearance, and maternal condition.

Signs that the fetus is not tolerating labor, such as an abnormal heart rate pattern or thick meconium staining, calling for maternal repositioning, oxygen, and timely referral or expedited birth.

Passage of fetal stool before birth, which may simply reflect maturity or may signal fetal compromise; thick staining requires newborn airway assessment and readiness for suction at delivery.

A bundle of actions at birth of the baby, typically a uterotonic drug, controlled cord traction, and uterine massage, intended to shorten the third stage and reduce postpartum bleeding.

Failure of the uterus to contract firmly after delivery of the placenta, the most common cause of heavy early postpartum bleeding, managed with massage, uterotonics, and bladder emptying.

Excessive blood loss after birth, conventionally at least five hundred milliliters after vaginal birth, requiring rapid assessment of uterine tone, bleeding sites, and circulatory status with prompt referral.

A technique of compressing the uterus between one hand in the vagina and one on the abdomen to stimulate contraction and slow bleeding when ordinary massage is insufficient.

The normal vaginal discharge after birth, changing from red to brownish to whitish over weeks; foul odor, large clots, or return to bright red bleeding suggest infection or retained tissue.

The gradual return of the uterus to its nonpregnant size and position over the weeks after birth, assessed by fundal height and firmness at each postpartum contact.

Infection of the genital tract after birth, suggested by fever, pelvic pain, foul lochia, or delayed recovery, and a leading cause of maternal death when recognition and referral are delayed.

Symptoms after birth that demand urgent care, including heavy bleeding, fever, severe headache, convulsions, difficulty breathing, foul discharge, and leg pain or swelling.

Feeding an infant only breast milk, with no water, other fluids, or solids, from birth until about six months, followed by continued breastfeeding with complementary foods.

Putting the newborn to the breast within the first hour after birth, which supports uterine contraction, colostrum intake, and the establishment of milk supply.

The way the infant's mouth attaches to the breast and the way the pair are held; deep attachment with the chin touching the breast prevents nipple trauma and supports effective milk transfer.

Clearing secretions from the newborn's mouth and nose promptly after birth, with suction reserved for obvious obstruction, to allow the first breaths to be effective.

A rapid assessment at one and five minutes after birth scoring heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflex response, and color, used to describe condition and guide resuscitation decisions.

Body temperature below the normal newborn range, caused by heat loss through wet skin, drafts, and delayed skin-to-skin contact, and linked to poor feeding and increased mortality.

Placing the dried, unclothed newborn prone on the mother's bare chest and covering both, which stabilizes temperature, encourages breastfeeding, and reduces crying and infection risk.

Testing newborns for treatable inherited and metabolic conditions according to national policy, done after adequate feeding and before discharge so that affected infants begin early care.

The legal recording of a birth with the civil registrar, which secures the child's identity and access to services; midwives attending births have a duty to support timely registration.

The obligation to report specified communicable or dangerous conditions to the local health authority within set timelines so that surveillance and outbreak response can proceed.

The agreed pathway, communication, and transport arrangements linking community midwifery practice to higher-level facilities, including feedback, so that complications reach definitive care without delay.

Agreement to care or a procedure given after the woman has received understandable information about purpose, benefits, alternatives, and risks, and has decided without pressure.

The duty to keep a woman's health information private and share it only with those involved in her care or as required by law, respecting her wishes about disclosure.

The legally defined set of services and limits within which a midwife may act independently, and the point at which referral to a physician or facility becomes mandatory.