| A | B |
|---|
| Analgesia | the use of medication to reduce the sensation of pain |
| Anesthesia | the use of medication to partially or totally block all sensation to an area of the body |
| Doula | Greek for servant birth assistants |
| Effleurage | a form of touch that involves light circular fingertip movements on the abdomen |
| Intrathecal | injection into the cerebrospinal fluid by lumbar puncture |
| Opioids | medications with opium like properties |
| Accelerations | spontaneous elevations of the fetal heart rate |
| Amnioinfusion | infusion of sterile fluid into the uterine cavity during labor |
| Early deceleration | the dip in the fetal heart rate tracing that occurs in conjunction with and mirrors a uterine contraction |
| Late decelerations | begin late in the contraction and recover after the contraction has ended |
| Lochia | uterine discharge composed of blood mucus tissue and white blood cells during the postpartum period |
| Open glottis pushing | method of expelling the fetus that is characterized by pushing with contractions using an open glottis so that air is released during the pushing effort |
| Periodic changes | variations in the fetal heart rate pattern that occur in conjunction with uterine contractions |
| Urge to push method | method of expelling the fetus in which the woman bears down only when she feels the urge to do so using any technique that feels right for her |
| Uteroplacental insufficiency | diminished or deficient blood flow to the uterus and placenta |
| Variability | fluctuations in fetal heart rate |
| Variable deceleration | a change in FHR that may occur at any point during a contractions and has a jagged erratic shape on the EFM tracing |
| Vigorous pushing | method of expelling the fetus in which the woman is told to take a deep breath hold the breath and push while counting to 10 |
