| Aetiology |
The
cause, set of causes, or manner of causation, of a disease or condition. |
| Antenatal |
The
period covering conception up to the time of birth. |
| Antepartum |
Prior
to labour. |
| Apgar
Score |
Numerical
score used to indicate a baby’s condition at 1 minute and at 5 minutes after
birth, in relation to each of 5 characteristics: breathing, colour, heart
rate, muscle tone and reflex irritability. |
| Apnea |
Cessation
of breathing. |
| Autopsy |
An
examination performed after the baby's death to determine the cause of death.
A full autopsy involves a surgical cut or incision and x-ray. The placenta is
also examined. A limited autopsy is subject to parental decision and may or
may not include examination of the placenta. |
| Clinician |
A
physician involved in the diagnosis and treatment of patients, or who is
skilled in clinical methods, as opposed to one who specialises in research. |
| Cultural
safety |
The essential components of cultural safety include:
- an understanding of one’s own culture;
- an acknowledgement of difference, and a requirement that
caregivers are actively mindful and respectful of difference(s);
- it is informed by the theory of power relations -any attempt to
depoliticise cultural safety is to miss the point;
- an appreciation of the historical context of colonisation, the
practices of racism at individual and institutional levels, and their impact
on First Nations People’s lives and wellbeing – both in the past and the
present; and
- its presence or absence is determined by the experience of the
recipient of care—it
is not defined by the caregiver.[1]
|
| External
examination |
Involves
x-ray and external examination of baby's body and placenta, but no
examination of internal organs. |
| Fetal
death |
The
death of a baby prior to birth (alternatively, stillbirth). |
| Gestation |
The
time between conception and birth during which the embryo or fetus is
developing in the uterus. |
| Gestational
age |
Duration
of a pregnancy in number of completed weeks. |
| Gravidity |
The
number of times that a woman has been pregnant. |
| Health
practitioner |
Someone
qualified in the practice of a particular field of the health profession. |
| Hypertension |
High
blood pressure. |
| Hypoxic |
A
condition in which the body or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen
supply at the tissue level. |
| Intrapartum |
Occurring
during childbirth or during the birth process. |
| Neonatal |
Pertaining
to a newborn child. |
| Parity |
The
number of previous pregnancies experienced by a woman that have resulted in a
live birth or a stillbirth. |
| Perinatal |
Pertaining
to, or occurring in, the period shortly before or after birth (usually up to 28
days after). |
| Placenta |
A
temporary organ that develops during pregnancy to nourish and maintain the
fetus through the umbilical cord. |
| Postpartum |
The
period following labour and birth. |
| Stillbirth |
Death
before the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of
conception of 20 or more completed weeks of gestation or of 400 grams or more
birthweight. |
| Term
birth |
Birth
after 37 and before 42 completed weeks of gestation. |
| Vasa
praevia |
A
rare but potentially serious condition in which blood vessels carrying blood
between the placenta and the baby cross over the cervix. These vessels may
bleed if the woman goes into labour, if the waters break, or if the cervix
opens. |