20 Must know Words for When You Are Pregnant!
When you are pregnant, the one thing that you are going to get is a lot of ADVICES! Hell loads of them.
The most important thing that’s been missing in those advice is how badly we need to know the “Preggo words”. And when I am writing this article on my 17th day of postpartum and in the strangest time of a pandemic, trust me you wouldn’t want to miss out on these simple but basic Pregnancy knowledge.
The culture that I belong to (my South Asian Roots! ^_^ ) Pregnancy is a celebration and apparently everyone from the family wants to take part in the process. The soon to be mumma will always have someone from her maternal side with her 24/7 till the baby is at least 40 days.
But things are changing. And in the time of a pandemic I have learnt yet again to take nothing for granted. The borders are closed, no flights available thus no one from the family could come over. My partner and I have been learning things on our own.
While going through the process I bumped into words that have been used by my doctors, midwives, zoom classes, almost everywhere,the words I had zero knowledge about. So I decided to educate myself and tadaa! Life’s been easier and everything makes more sense (Ofcourse!)
Here’s a small but VERY important list of vocab that I have gathered throughout my pregnancy to understand my doctor, midwife or anything on the internet that gives away most about pregnancy.
Embryo — the fertilized egg at the earliest stage of pregnancy. The unborn baby is called an embryo from the 4th day after fertilization up to 8 weeks.
Fetus — the unborn baby is called a fetus from 9 weeks after fertilisation until birth.
Womb / Uterus — the organ inside a pregnant woman where the baby grows.
Amniotic Fluid — the liquid that a baby lives in inside its mother’s womb.
Breech Birth — a birth in which the baby’s head does not come out first.
Induce — to make a woman start giving birth to a baby rather than waiting for her to start having it naturally.
Contraction — a movement of a muscle in which it becomes tighter, especially the strong painful movement of the muscles of a woman’s womb that help to push a baby out during birth.
Morning sickness — When you are pregnant, you sometimes feel sick in the morning or other times of the day! (I had afternoon sickness)
Cervix — the neck of the womb, which dilates during childbirth to allow the baby to pass through.
Dilation — widening.
Epidural — A type of pain relief that numbs the lower body, often used in childbirth.
Episiotomy — a surgical cut made to the vagina during childbirth to assist in the delivery of the baby and prevent the tearing of skin tissue
Caesarian section/ C Section — When a baby is delivered surgically, via an incision in the mother’s abdomen.
Suture / stitches — Surgical thread used by surgeons to close wounds (the thread is called ‘suture’ and the process is called stitching — giving or receiving stitches)
EDD — Expected date of Delivery
Placenta — the organ through which a baby is connected to its mother’s blood supply in her womb before birth
Braxton Hicks Contractions — Braxton Hicks contractions are also called “false labor.” They occur when the uterus tightens briefly, basically as practice for actual labor. Braxton Hicks contractions most commonly occur late in pregnancy, iin the third trimester. If unsure whether someone is having real contractions or Braxton Hicks contractions, she should talk to a doctor for more information ( I went to the emergency twice for Braxton Hicks and the third time it was real!)
Eclampsia — Eclampsia is a pregnancy condition in which a woman’s high blood pressure which leads to problems such as convulsions (shaking), coma, and even death. It must be treated very quickly.
Maternal Hemorrhage — A maternal hemorrhage is heavy bleeding from the vagina when a woman is pregnant, giving birth, or has recently given birth. A hemorrhage can be a very serious medical problem, and must be treated quickly.
In-vitro fertilization (IVF) — “In-vitro” means “in glass” and “fertilization” means that a sperm joins with an egg. During IVF, sperm and eggs are taken out of the parents, combined in a glass container, and then put into the mother’s uterus. In-vitro fertilization is a way that a woman can become pregnant without having sexual intercourse with a man (sometimes, women also have in-vitro fertilization because they are unable to become pregnant through sex, or because their partner has fertility problems).
