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| Pregnancy Terms |
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Pregnancy terms starting with R
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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Relaxin
Category:
Mom's health
A hormone released by the placenta that serves to loosen ligaments and joints throughout the
body. The purpose is to relax the pelvis, increasing the size of the pelvic diameters to
allow passage of the baby at birth. (Relaxin is also responsible for loosening the ligaments
in the feet, which many women experience as a permanent increase in shoe-size.)
Rh sensitization
Category:
High risk/Complications
The process or state of becoming sensitized to the Rh (rhesus) factor as when an Rh-negative
woman is pregnant with an Rh-positive fetus.
Round ligament
Category:
Mom's health
Ligaments that run along both sides of the uterus, which stretch during pregnancy. As they
stretch, the round ligaments may cause pain or a cramping sensation.
Respiratory distress syndrome
Category:
Baby's health
Frequently abbreviated as RDS. The lungs of most full-term infants are soft and pliable and
stretch and contract with each breath. By contrast, the lung tissue of RDS babies is stiff
and these newborns must work very hard to breathe. Symptoms of RDS include grunting noises
with each breath, very rapid breathing (tachypnea), poor gas exchange, periods in which
breathing stops for 20 seconds or longer (apnea), abnormal contraction of the muscles
between the ribs and between the breastbone (the sternum) and the chest wall, and a blue
tinge in the skin around the lips and in the nail beds (cyanosis) that indicates lack of
oxygen. Most RDS babies develop respiratory failure and they need mechanical breathing
assistance from a ventilator (respirator) to survive.
Retroverted uterus
Category:
Mom's health
A retroverted (or "tipped") uterus is one that is tilted, either up toward the bladder or
toward the small of the back. Retroversion occurs in 15%-20% of women, and this condition
should not cause problems in achieving a pregnancy or in carrying a baby to term. It may,
however, be more difficult to hear fetal heart tones via Doppler early in pregnancy due to
the fact that the uterus is deeper in the abdomen (and further away from the listening
device).
Rubella
Category:
Mom's health
Rubella, also called German measles or three-day measles, is a very contagious disease
caused by the rubella virus. The virus causes fever, swollen lymph nodes behind the ears,
and a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the torso and then to the arms and legs.
Rubella is no longer very common because most children are immunized beginning at 12 months
of age. Rubella is not usually a serious disease in children, but can be very serious if a
pregnant woman becomes infected. Infection with rubella in the first 3 months of pregnancy
can cause serious injury to the fetus, resulting in heart damage, blindness, deafness,
mental retardation, miscarriage, or stillbirth.
Rubella is spread person-to-person by breathing in droplets of respiratory secretions
exhaled by an infected person. It may also be spread when someone touches his or her nose or
mouth after their hands have been in contact with infected secretions (such as saliva) of an
infected person. A person can spread the disease from as many as 5 days before the rash
appears to 5 to 7 days after.
Rubella may be prevented by immunization. The rubella vaccine is part of the MMR (measles,
mumps, rubella) vaccine series administered to children beginning at 12 months of age.
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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