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| Pregnancy Terms |
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Pregnancy terms starting with D
Get quick definitions of many of the most common pregnancy terms here! From fertility
treatment terminology to common pregnancy conditions to the stages of labor, find
out more about the hundreds of new words you will be hearing.
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D&C
Category:
High risk/Complications
A D&C (Dilation and Curettage) is a minor operation in which the cervix is expanded enough
(dilation) to permit the cervical canal and uterine lining (endometrium) to be scraped with
a spoon-shaped instrument called a curette (curettage). This procedure is sometimes done in
the event of a miscarriage or during an abortion.
Doppler
Category:
General pregnancy
An ultrasound device used to listen to the fetal heart. Also sometimes called a Doptone.
Diabetes
Category:
Mom's health
A chronic health condition where the body is unable to produce insulin and properly break
down sugar (glucose) in the blood. Symptoms include hunger, thirst, excessive urination,
dehydration and weight loss. The treatment of diabetes requires daily insulin injections,
proper nutrition and regular exercise.
Diaphragmatic hernia
Category:
Birth defects
Herniation of the abdominal contents through the diaphragm into the thoracic cavity usually
resulting in respiratory distress
Dilation
Category:
Labor and birth
During the first stage of labor, the cervix widens to 10 centimeters (about the size of a
wide-mouthed jar), a process called dilation.
Dilation and curettage
Category:
High risk/Complications
A minor operation in which the cervix is expanded enough (dilation) to permit the cervical
canal and uterine lining (endometrium) to be scraped with a spoon-shaped instrument called a
curette (curettage). Also called D&C, this procedure is sometimes done in the event of a
miscarriage or during an abortion.
DNA
Category:
Pregnancy/Birth/Other
The substance of heredity; a large molecule that carries the genetic information that cells
need to replicate and to produce proteins. DNA is a double-stranded molecule held together
by weak bonds between base pairs of nucleotides. The four nucleotides in DNA contain the
bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). In nature, base pairs form
only between A and T and between G and C; thus the base sequence of each single strand can
be deduced from that of its partner.
DONA
Category:
Labor and birth
Doulas of North America, a professional organization for doulas. Marshall Klaus MD, Phyllis
Klaus, John Kennell MD, Penny Simkin and Annie Kennedy founded DONA, or Doulas of North
America, in 1992. The organization is non-profit, and continues to be one of the largest
certifying organizations for doulas, professional labor assistants.
Donor embryo
Category:
Conception and fertility
An embryo formed from the egg of a woman who has donated it for transfer to a woman who is
unable to conceive with her own eggs (the recipient). The donor relinquishes all parental
rights to any resulting offspring.
Doula
Category:
Labor and birth
Professional labor assistant, usually a woman, who provides emotional, physical and
sometimes spiritual support to the laboring mother.
Down Syndrom
Category:
Birth defects
Also known as Trisomy 21, Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal disorder. This
syndrome is caused by the presence of an extra #21 chromosome and is highly variable
clinically. Some infants with trisomy 21 are stillborn. In liveborn children mental
retardation may range from mild to severe/profound.
Dysfunctional labor
Category:
Labor and birth
Failure to progress in a clinically normal pattern of labor
More definitions
Click on any of the letters below to read more:
A B
C D
E F
G H
I J
K L
M N
O P
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