OB - Exam 1 - Concepts/Vocab

Question 0

Gravidity

Answer 0

Pregnancy

Question 1

Gravida

Answer 1

Woman who is pregnant

Question 2

Multigravida

Answer 2

A woman who has had two or more pregnancies

Question 3

Multipara

Answer 3

A woman who has completed two or more pregnancies to 20 or more weeks of gestation

Question 4

Nulligravida

Answer 4

A woman who has never been pregnant

Question 5

Nullipara

Answer 5

A woman who has not completed a pregnancy with a fetus or fetuses who have reached 20 weeks of gestation

Question 6

Parity

Answer 6

Number of pregnancies in which the fetus or fetuses have reached 20 weeks of gestation when they are born, not the number of fetuses (e.g., twins) born.
Whether fetus is born alive or is stillborn does not affect parity.

Question 7

Postdate / Postterm

Answer 7

Pregnancy that goes beyond 42 weeks of gestation

Question 8

Preterm

Answer 8

Pregnancy has reached 20 weeks of gestation but ends before completion of 37 week of gestation

Question 9

Primigravida

Answer 9

Woman who is pregnant for the first time

Question 10

Primipara

Answer 10

Woman who has completed one pregnancy with fetus or fetuses who have reached 20 weeks of gestation

Question 11

Term

Answer 11

A pregnancy from the completion of 37 weeks of gestation to the end of week 42 of gestation

Question 12

Viability

Answer 12

Capacity to live outside the uterus; there are no clear limits of gestational age or weight.
Infants born at 22-25 weeks of gestation are considered to be at the threshold of viability and are vulnerable to brain injury if they survive.

Question 13

Braxton-Hicks contractions

Answer 13

• Irregular and painless contractions that occur intermittently throughout pregnancy (soon after 4th month)
• Facilitate uterine blood flow through intervillous spaces of placenta – promote oxygen delivery to fetus
• Usually cease with walking or exercise
• Do not increase in intensity or frequency or cause cervical dilation

Question 14

Ductus venosus

Answer 14

• Connects the umbilical vein to the inferior vena cava - most blood passes through
• From there, mixes with deoxygenated blood from fetal legs & abdomen on way to right atrium and through foramen ovale
  (p. 279)

Question 15

Ductus arteriosus

Answer 15

• Special circulatory pathway that bypasses lungs
• Joins the aorta and pulmonary artery
  (p. 279)

Question 16

Foramen ovale

Answer 16

• Temporary opening between the right and left atria

p. 280

Question 17

Lightening

Answer 17

• Fundal height drops as the fetus begins to descend and engage in pelvis - most noticeable in first pregnancies
• Between weeks 38 - 40
• Occurs in nullipara 2 weeks before onset of labor and at start of labor in multipara
  (p. 292)

Question 18

Hegar sign

Answer 18

• Compressibility and softening of the lower uterine segment that occurs about week 6 of gestation
• Uterine fundus presses on urinary bladder, causing urinary frequency
• Considered probable sign of pregnancy
  (p. 293)

Question 19

Ballottement

Answer 19

• Rebounding of fetus against the examiner’s finger on palpation
• Can be identified generally between weeks 16-18
• When examiner taps on cervix, fetus floats upward in the amniotic fluid - examiner feels a rebound when fetus falls back
  (p. 294)

Question 20

Quickening

Answer 20

• Maternal perception of fetal movement for the first time, occurring usually in 16th-20th week of pregnancy
• Commonly described as flutter, difficult to distinguish from peristalsis
• Fetal movements gradually increase in intensity and frequency
  (p. 294)

Question 21

Goodell sign

Answer 21

• Softening of the cervical tip, observed approx 6th week of pregnancy
• Probable sign of pregnancy
• Caused by increased vascularity, slight hypertrophy, and hyperplasia (increased number of cells) of muscle and its connective tissue
  (p. 293)

Question 22

Chadwick sign

Answer 22

• Violet coloration of the mucous membranes of the cervix, vagina, and vulva
• Caused by increased vascularity
• May be evident as early as 6th week, but easily noticed at 8th week of pregnancy
• Probable sign of pregnancy
  (p. 295)

Question 23

Colostrum

Answer 23

• Creamy white-to-yellowish-to-orange pre-milk fluid
• May be expressed from the nipples as early as 16 weeks of gestation
  (p. 296)

Question 24

Linea nigra

Answer 24

• Pigmented line extending from the symphysis pubis to the top of the fundus in the midline
• Not all pregnant women develop
• Some women notice hair growth along the line with or without the change in pigmentation
  (p. 301)

Question 25

Leukorrhea

Answer 25

• White or slightly gray mucoid discharge with a faint musty odor
• Occurs in response to cervical stimulation by estrogen and progesterone
• Never pruritic or blood stained
  (p. 295)

Question 26

Operculum

Answer 26

• Mucous plug
• Acts as a barrier against bacterial invasion during pregnancy
  (p. 295)

Question 27

Postpartum period

Answer 27

• Interval between birth of newborn and return to nonpregnant state
• Traditionally considered 6 weeks, but can vary
• Also known as puerperium or fourth trimester

Question 28

Involution

Answer 28

• Process to return of uterus to nonpregnant state after birth
• Begins immediately after expulsion of placenta (with contraction of uterine smooth muscle)
• Uterus rapidly decreases in size, fundus descends approx 1-2 cm every 24 hours
• Uterus should not be palpable abdominally after week 2

Question 29

Subinvolution

Answer 29

• Failure of the uterus to return to non-pregnant state
• Most common causes are retained placental fragments or infection
  (p. 478)

Question 31

Lochia

Answer 31

• Uterine discharge after childbirth - blood from vessels of placenta and debris from decidua
• Discharge decreases daily in amount - may increase w/ambulation and breastfeeding
• Rubra: bright red discharge - from delivery - day 3
• Serosa: brownish pink discharge - days 4 - 10
• Alba: white discharge - days 11 - 14
• Oxytocin can often cause lochia flow to diminish
• Typically less after C-section since surgeon suctions

(p. 478)

Question 32

Risks with obesity during pregnancy

Answer 32

Increased likelihood of macrosomnia and fetopelvic disproportion; operative vaginal birth; emergency C-section; post-partum hemorrhage; birth trauma, late fetal death; and wound, genital tract, and/or urinary track infection.

Question 33

Cell division

Answer 33

Meiosis - divide and decrease chromosomal # in half; produces cells with one set of chromosomes which will be gametes or sex cells
Mitosis - produces cells with two sets which helps with growth and repair; creates two cells with the same genetic makeup as parent cell
(p. 270)

Question 34

Signs of pregnancy

presumptive, probable, positive

Answer 34

Presumptive (tend to be changes noticed by woman): breast changes, amenorrhea, nausea, vomiting, urinary frequency, fatigue, quickening (could be gas or peristalsis)
Probable (tend to be changes noticed by examiner): Hegar’s sign, Chadwick’s sign, Goodell sign, positive pregnancy test (serum or urine), Braxton Hicks, ballottement
Positive (only definite links to presence of fetus): fetal movements palpated or visible; visualization of fetus by real-time ultrasound or radiographic study; FHT by ultrasound, Doppler, or fetal stethoscope
(p. 292)

Question 35

Teratogens

Answer 35

• Weeks 2-8 are the most critical time when teratogens can do the most harm
• The fetus (week 9 until birth) is less vulnerable to teratogens, except those affecting CNS functioning
  (p. 279, Box 12-1)

Question 36

Role of amniotic fluid

Answer 36

• Helps maintain constant body temperature
• Cushions fetus from trauma
• Acts as barrier to infection
• Allows fetal lung development
• Allows movement for musculoskeletal development
• Assists in maintenance of fluid and electrolyte homeostasis
• Source of oral fluid and repository for waste

Volume important for fetal well-being: 2L (hydraminos) could indicate GI and other malformations
(p. 275)