Here is a short list of some terms that are often written or spoken about:

Here is a short list of some terms that are often written or spoken about:

VE - Vaginal examination Primip - Short for Primiparous, used postnatally to refer to a person who has just had her first baby over 24 weeks in gestation. In pregnancy she would be referred to as nulliparous if she has never given birth to a baby over 24 weeks. Multip - A person who has already given birth to at least one baby over 24 weeks gestation (multiparous) FH - Fetal heart rate, may also be written as FHR PV loss - Per vaginam (latin) leaking ie water, discharge, blood etc Asynclitic - Refers to the baby's head being slightly tilted to one side as it comes through the birth canal Anterior lip - Sometimes occurs as the cervix is reaching fully dilated and presents as a swelling on one side of the cervix. SROM - Spontaneous rupture of membranes (waters break on their own) PROM - Prelabour rupture of membranes. ARM - Artificial rupture of membranes ( someone breaks them for you) AFI - Amniotic fluid index, a measurement the fluid is in the uterus Posterior fornix - used commonly when inducing using a prostaglandin pessary. The tablet/pessary is place in a little nook behind the cervix which we call the posterior fornix Decel - when the fetal heart rate drops more than 15 beats per minute below what it has been on average in labour (baseline) for at least 15 seconds Reduced variability - Sometimes when babies are sleeping during labour, the heart rate doesnt jump up and down like it does when baby is awake and moving around, a bit like adults. This can cause the heart rate to plod along only changing a few beats at a time. This is ok in short bursts of 40 mins or so but if it goes on for a long time, a doctor may want to have a look at the monitor and mother to see if there are any other concerns. Bulging membranes - During vaginal examination sometimes a bulging bag of membranes can be felt protruding through when the cervix starts to dilate. LSCS- Lower segment caesarean section, the most common type of c-section performed with a horizontal incision low down near the pelvis Any other abreviations youre unsure of? Pop them below and I will try and clarify what they mean!