| A | B |
|---|
| Abortion | An early termination or premature ending of a pregnancy. This can happen either by choice (therapeutic) via surgery or medication, or it can happen naturally (spontaneous). This is often called a miscarriage. |
| Abruptio placentae | Premature separation of the placenta from the wall of the uterus. |
| Anasarca | refers to the severe, widespread accumulation of fluid in the all of the tissues and cavities of the body at the same time |
| Cerclage | Encirclement with a ring, loop, wire, or ligature. Cerclage refers to an operation performed on the cervix to prevent a miscarriage. |
| Cleft lip | A fissure in the upper lip that is due to failure of the left and right sides of the fetal lip tissue to fuse. |
| The direct Coombs | blood tests can check for antibodies that attack red blood cells: test is done on a sample of red blood cells from the body. It detects antibodies that are already attached to red blood cells |
| Dizygotic | Twins are also called fraternal twins. Twins who have shared a common uterine environment with its twin but is due to a different fertilized ovum. |
| Eclampsia | Convulsions (seizures) occurring with pregnancy-associated high blood pressure and having no other cause |
| Ectopic pregnancy | a pregnancy located outside the inner lining of the uterus |
| Erythroblastosis fetalis | Rh Disease occurs when a woman with Rh-negative blood conceives a child with Rh-positive blood. Red blood cells are destroyed (hemolysis) because of this incompatibility, leading to anemia and other symptoms in the infant. |
| Gestational diabetes | diabetes, or high blood sugar levels, that develops during pregnancy. |
| Glycosylated hemoglobin | Hemoglobin to which glucose is bound. |
| Grunting (Increased work to breathe) | The baby makes a little grunting noise at the end of respiration. This serves to try to open up blocked airways |
| Hemorrhage | Excessive bleeding |
| High-risk pregnancy | when there are potential complications that could affect the mother, the baby, or both. High-risk pregnancies require management by a specialist to help ensure the best outcome for the mother. Some women experience what doctors refer to as a high-risk pregnancy. |
| Hydramnios | a condition during pregnancy characterized by too much amniotic fluid. It is also known as amniotic fluid disorder or polyhydramnios. |
| Hydatidiform mole | a rare mass or growth that forms inside the womb (uterus) at the beginning of a pregnancy. |
| Hydrocephalus | the buildup of too much cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. Normally, this fluid cushions your brain. |
| Hyperbilirubinemia | An elevated level of the pigment bilirubin in the blood. A sufficient elevation of bilirubin produces jaundice |
| Hyperemesis gravidarum | Extreme, excessive, and persistent vomiting in early pregnancy that may lead to dehydration and malnutrition |
| Incompetent cervix | has an abnormal tendency to dilate and so may not be able to keep a fetus from being spontaneously aborted (miscarried) |
| Indirect Coombs' test | determines whether there are antibodies to the Rh factor in the mother’s blood |
| Kernicterus | A disorder that is due to severe jaundice in the newborn, with deposition of the pigment bilirubin in the brain that causes damage to the brain, potentially leading to athetoid cerebral palsy, hearing loss, vision problems, or mental retardation. |
| Kick counts | In the last trimester of your pregnancy, your doctor may ask you to keep track of the baby's movement every day. |
| Mastitis | Inflammation of one or more mammary glands within the breast, usually in a lactating woman. |
| Monozygotic | Twins that develop from a single ovum or identical twins |
| Morbidity | Illness, disease |
| Mortality (infant) | The death of an infant before his or her first birthday |
| Neural tube defect (NTD) | A major birth defect caused by abnormal development of the neural tube, the structure that is present during embryonic life that gives rise to the central nervous system. |
| Phenylketonuria (PKU) | a disorder that is inherited that can cause mental retardation if a special diet low in phenylalanine |
| Placenta previa | A condition during pregnancy when the placenta lies low in the uterus either partly or completely covering the opening of the cervix. A condition in which the placenta is implanted near the outlet of the uterus |
| Placental barrier | The semipermeable layer of tissue in the placenta that serves as a selective membrane to substances passing from maternal to fetal blood |
| pregnancy-induced hypertension | Hypertension during pregnancy |
| Premature | A baby born before 37 weeks of gestation have passed |
| Puerperal fever | Fever that lasts for more than 24 hours within the first 10 days after a woman has had a baby. The fever is due to an infection, most often of the placental site within the uterus |
| Embolism, pulmonary | The obstruction of the pulmonary artery or a branch of it leading to the lungs by a blood clot, usually from the leg, or foreign material causing sudden closure of the vessel. |
| RDS | Respiratory distress syndrome. Formerly known as hyaline membrane disease, a syndrome of respiratory difficulty in newborn infants caused by a deficiency of a molecule called surfactant. |
| Spina bifida | A major birth defect and a type of neural tube defect that involves an opening in the vertebral column caused by the failure of the neural tube to close properly during embryonic development |
| Thromboembolism | Formation in a blood vessel of a clot (thrombus) that breaks loose and is carried by the blood stream to plug another vessel |
| TORCH screen | A blood test that is designed to screen for a group of infectious agents known by the acronym TORCH. Toxoplasmosis, other, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, and Herpes |
