Midwifery notes

• 1st trimester


  1-12 weeks
• 2nd trimester


  13-27 weeks
• third trimester


  28-40 weeks
• Primigravida


  Woman in her first pregnancy
• Multigravida


  Woman who has been pregnant more than once
• Grand multigravida


  A women who has been pregnant five times or more
• Parity


  The number of live births plus stillbirths a woman has had
• nullipara


  a woman who has never given birth
• Primipara


  Woman who has given birth once
• multipara


  Woman who has given birth more than once
• Grand multipara


  Woman who has given birth for more than 5 times
• Maternal death


  The death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes
• Gamete


  A mature sexual reproductive cells, and are divided into male gametes and female gametes
• Zygote


  A fertilized ovum produced by fusion of ovum and spermatozoon
• lie


  The relationship between the long axis of the fetus and the long axis of the uterus. The majority of cases the lie is longitudinal
• Attitude


  The relationship of the fetal head and limbs to its trunk. Normally it should be one of flexion
• presentation


  The part of the fetus which lies in the lower pole of the uterus. It may be vertex, cephalic, breech, shoulder, face or brow
• Presenting part


  The part if fetus that lies over the cervical os. during labour and on which the caput forms
• Denominator


  The part of the presentation that determines the position
• Position


  The relationship between the denominator of the presentation and eight points on the pelvic brim
• Fontanelles


  Anterior fontanelles (Bregma)，Posterior fontanelles (Lambda)
• Cellular Division


  Each human begins life as a single cell which reproduces itself in a continuing process
• Chromosomes in each cell

  • 23 pairs
  • 22 autosomes
  • Sex chromosomes: X and X (XX) for a female, & X and a much smaller Y (XY) for a male
• Autosomes


  • Numbered by length, with chromosome 1 being the longest and chromosome 22 being the shortest
• Mitosis


  1. Produce cells for growth & tissue repair

  2. Cell division characteristic of all somatic (body) cells

  3. No DNA replication in second division

  4. One stage cell division (with DNA replication)

  5. 2 daughter cells identical to the mother cell, each with the diploid number (46 chromosomes)
• Meiosis


  1. Produce reproductive cells (gametes)

  2. Two stage cell division

  3. 4 daughter cells, each containing one half the no. of chromosomes (haploid no.) as the mother cell (23 chromosomes)
• Fertilization


  1. Fusion of a male cell (sperm) & a female cell (ovum)

  2. Ideally occurs in ampulla of fallopian tube

  3. The ovum & sperm each contains 23 single chromosomes

  4. Fusion of ovum & sperm forms the zygote (fertilized egg), which contains 23 pairs of chromosomes

  5. The zygote then transported & reaches the uterus in about 4-5days
• Post registration diploma in Midwifery

  A diploma program for midwives after their initial registration
• School of Midwifery


  An educational institution that provides training in midwifery
• Law Pik Shan


  The name of a person
• Obstetrics


  A branch of medical science that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period
• Midwifery


  The profession of midwives, encompassing care of women during pregnancy, labour, and the postpartum period, as well as care of the newborn
• Midwife


  A practitioner responsible for providing midwifery care to women during antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal periods
• International Confederation of Midwives (ICM, 2017)


  The global professional organisation for midwives
• A midwife is a person who has successfully completed a midwifery education programme that is based on the ICM Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice and the framework of the ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Education and is recognized in the country where it is located; who has acquired the requisite qualifications to be registered and/or legally licensed to practice midwifery and use the title 'midwife' and who demonstrates competency in the practice of midwifery.
• Common terms in obstetrics & Midwifery

  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnant woman
  • Fetus / Neonate
  • Labour / Delivery
• Pregnancy


  The period of time between conception and birth
• Miscarriage


  Natural death of an embryo or fetus in the uterus before the fetus reaches viability
• Period of pregnancy


  Usually 37-42 weeks, average 280 days
• Gestation


  The period of time between conception and birth