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| Pregnancy Terms |
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Pregnancy terms starting with M
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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Macrosomia
Category:
Labor and birth
An infant weighing over 4,000 grams (8 pounds, 13 ounces). Macrosomia means "large body" and
refers to a baby that is considerably larger than normal.
Male factor
Category:
Conception and fertility
Deficiencies in sperm quantity, function, or motility (ability to move) that make it
difficult for a sperm to fertilize an egg under normal conditions.
Mask of pregnancy
Category:
Mom's health
A patchy brownish discoloration of the skin on the face, caused by pregnancy hormones
causing an increased production of the pigment melanin. Also called chloasma or melasma, it
usually disappears after delivery.
Meconium
Category:
Labor and birth
The fetal stool - baby's first bowel movement. Meconium is usually black or dark green, and
is comprised of amniotic fluid, mucus, lanugo, bile and discarded cells.
Meconium aspiration
Category:
Labor and birth
Aspiration of meconium by the fetus or newborn, affecting the lower respiratory system.
Meiosis
Category:
Conception and fertility
Process of cell division that results in the formation of gametes, consisting of two nuclear
divisions in rapid succession that result in the formation of four gametocytes each
containing half the number of chromosomes found in somatic cells.
Melasma
Category:
Mom's health
A patchy brownish discoloration of the skin on the face, caused by pregnancy hormones
causing an increased production of the pigment melanin. Also called "the mask of pregnancy"
or melasma, it usually disappears after delivery.
Menarche
Category:
Mom's health
The onset of menstruation, which occurs during puberty.
Menses
Category:
Mom's health
Menstrual period
Menstrual age
Category:
General pregnancy
Most caregivers date pregnancy based upon your LMP (last menstrual period). Menstrual age
differs from gestational age because conception has not yet occurred during the first two
weeks after menstruation.
When dating a pregnancy from LMP, a full pregnancy lasts 280 days, or 40 weeks.
Microcephalus
Category:
Birth defects
A significantly small head.
Midwife
Category:
Mom's health
A licensed midwife has completed training that allows her to care for women during their
childbearing years and attend to low-risk pregnancies and births. Unlike a CNM, a midwife
does not need to be a nurse, and the training requirements will vary from state to state.
Mittelschmerz
Category:
Conception and fertility
Middle pain - an ache or twinge in the lower abdomen - caused by ovulation.
Molding
Category:
Labor and birth
During labor, molding occurs where the baby's skull sutures overlap and the head shape
changes to negotiate the journey through the mother's pelvis. Babies may be born with "cone
heads," a temporary condition.
Monitrice
Category:
Labor and birth
Professional labor assistant, or doula, who also has medical knowledge and may perform some
minor medical procedures.
Monosomy x
Category:
Birth defects
Also known as Turner syndrome, Monosomy X is the result of a missing X chromosome in a
female. Although the rate of miscarriage and stillbirth is very high, those who are liveborn
generally have good health, a normal life span and normal intelligence.
Mucus plug
Category:
Labor and birth
The thick mucus that seals off the cervix (the opening to the uterus). You will "lose your
plug" near or during labor. It will probably look like heavy mucus mixed with red blood, and
suggests a softening of the cervix.
Multifetal pregnancy reduction
Category:
General pregnancy
A procedure in which the number of gestational sacs is reduced. This procedure is used to
decrease the number of fetuses a woman carries and thereby improve the chances that the
remaining fetuses will survive and develop into healthy infants.
Multigradvia
Category:
Mom's health
Second or later pregnancy. (Latin term)
Multiple birth
Category:
General pregnancy
A pregnancy that results in the birth of more than one infant (twins, triplets, etc).
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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