Various terms used in pregnancy

1. MUHIMBILI UNVERSITY OF HEALTH AND ALLIED
SCIENCES- MUHAS
Tanzania's Premier in Health Training, Research and
Consultancy Services
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
OF PREGNANCY
P R E S E N T E D B Y:
MTEWELE, Jofrey
BScN3 2014-04-07282

2. DEFINITION OF TERMS
Gravida
Gravidity
Multigravida
Multipara
Nullgravida
Nullpara
Parity
Postdate or postterm
Preterm
Primegravida
Primipara
Term
Viability
Grand multipara

3. • Gravida : refer to a pregnant woman.
• Gravidity :refers to the number of times a woman has
been pregnant, regardless of whether the pregnancies
were interrupted or resulted in a live birth.
• Multigravida : is a woman who has been pregnant
more than one time
• Multipara : A woman who has had two or more
pregnancies resulting in potentially viable offspring
• Nullgravida : is a woman who has never been
pregnant.

4. • Nullpara :A woman who has never carried a pregnancy beyond
20 weeks (para 0)
• Parity : the number of pregnancies in which the fetus or
fetuses have reached viability when they are born, not number
of fetuses like twins or whether the fetus is born alive or
stillborn.
• Post date or post term : a pregnancy that goes beyond 42
weeks of gestation
• Preterm :refers to the pregnancy that has reached 20 weeks
but before completion of 37 weeks of gestation

5. There are sub-categories of preterm birth, based on gestational
age: (WHO)
 extremely preterm (<28 weeks)
 very preterm (28 to <32 weeks)
 moderate to late preterm (32 to <37 weeks).
• Primegravida :A woman who is pregnant for the first time, or
who has been pregnant once.
• Primipara : A woman who has had one pregnancy that resulted
in a fetus that attained a weight of 500 g or a gestational age of
20 weeks, regardless of whether the infant was living at birth
or whether it was a single or multiple birth.

6. • Term : a pregnancy from the beginning of 38 weeks
of gestation to the end of 42 weeks of gestation.
• Viability : is the potential of the fetus to survive
outside the uterus after birth, natural or induced.
About 22 to 24 weeks of gestation since last
menstrual period or fetal weight of greater than 500 g.
• Grand multipara : a woman who has completed more
than five pregnancies to the stage of fetal viability