Pregnancy 101 | Decoding Medical Terms for Dad

OBGYN: ‘OB’ is short for obstetrics or for an obstetrician, a physician who delivers babies. ‘GYN’ is short for gynecology or for a gynecologist, a physician who specialises in treating conditions of the female reproductive organs.

Baby Led Weaning: Letting your child feed themselves bite sized pieces from the very start of weaning, rather than feeding them puréed food.

Gestational Age: The length of time from conception to birth (how long the baby stays in the womb). Full-term gestation is between 38 and 42 weeks.

Gestational Diabetes: Diabetes that arises during pregnancy. In most cases, it results from the effects of hormones and subsides after delivery. Most women will be given a glucose test between weeks 24 and 28.

Meconium: The first bowel movement/stool passed by a newborn, usually dark green and sticky.

Jaundice: The yellow discolouration of a baby’s skin and eyes caused by too much bilirubin (which is normally excreted by the liver) in the blood.

Kangaroo Care: Skin-to-skin contact where baby is positioned on mum or dad’s bare chest to promote bonding and healing.

NICU: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – If your baby is premature then he or she might have to stay in the NICU where hospital staff care for newborns who have medical complications.

US: An ‘Ultrasound Scan’ – This is a scan that sends high-frequency soundwaves through the womb. These bounce off the baby and the echoes are turned into an image on a screen that show the baby’s position and movements.

FUN:

Baby Catcher:
An obstetrician.

Baby Moon: A last hurrah for couples before becoming new parents. A chance to bond and enjoy some R&R before the baby arrives.

Helicopter Parent: Characterised by a helicopter-like tendency to hover over children and swoop in to rescue them at the first sign of trouble.

NPS: New Parent Syndrome. An intensive state of parenting in which the afflicted adult becomes alarmingly obsessed with (among other things) the safety, nutrition and intellectual development of their offspring. It usually strikes hard with the first child and disappears entirely thereafter.

TOBP: Tired of Being Pregnant – This usually happens after 35 weeks of pregnancy when mum-to-be is tired, achy and really quite uncomfortable.