'OMG...WTF?'
The maternity system loves a good acronym!
It can be hard to know what they all stand for, so here’s a list of some of the acronyms that you might find in your pregnancy and birth notes. If you are unsure what they mean or how they apply to you, please ask your midwife or care provider to explain in further detail.
|
A/F |
Artificial feeding |
|
AN |
Antenatal (Latin for ‘before baby’) |
|
AROM |
Artificial rupture of membranes |
|
BF |
Breast feeding |
|
BM |
Breast milk |
|
BNO |
Bowels not opened |
|
BO |
Bowels opened |
|
BP |
Blood pressure |
|
Bpm |
Beats per minute. |
|
Br |
Breech |
|
BW |
Birth weight |
|
CCT |
Controlled cord traction |
|
Ceph |
Cephalic |
|
Cont/Ctx |
Contraction/s |
|
CRL |
Crown rump length |
|
CTG |
Cardiotocograph |
|
Cx/Cvx |
Cervix |
|
DOB |
Date of birth |
|
D/W |
Discussed with |
|
EBF |
Exclusively breast feeding |
|
EBL |
Estimated blood loss |
|
EBM |
Expressed breast milk |
|
ECV |
External cephalic version |
|
EDD |
Estimated date of delivery |
|
ELSCS |
Elective lower segment caesarean section |
|
EMLSCS |
Emergency lower segment caesarean section |
|
FBC |
Full blood count |
|
FF |
Formula feeding |
|
FHH |
Fetal heart heard |
|
FHR |
Fetal heart rate |
|
FHT |
Fetal heart tones |
|
FM |
Fetal movements |
|
GBS |
Group B strep |
|
GDM |
Gestational diabetes mellitus |
|
GTT |
Glucose tolerance test |
|
HBAC |
Home birth after caesarean |
|
HC |
Head circumference |
|
H/o |
History of |
|
HNPmec |
Has not passed meconium |
|
HNPU |
Has not passed urine |
|
HPmec |
Has passed meconium |
|
HPU |
Has passed urine |
|
HR |
Heart rate |
|
Hx |
History |
|
IBCLC |
Internationally board certified lactation consultant |
|
IM |
Intramuscular |
|
IOL |
Induction of labour |
|
IUGR |
Intrauterine growth restriction |
|
IUP |
Intrauterine pregnancy |
|
IV |
Intravenous |
|
LBW |
Low birth weight |
|
LC |
Lactation consultant |
|
LMC |
Lead maternity carer |
|
LMP |
Last menstrual period |
|
LOA |
Left occiput anterior |
|
LOP |
Left occiput posterior |
|
LOT |
Left occiput transverse |
|
MEC |
Meconium |
|
MP |
Maternal pulse |
|
MSU |
Midstream specimen of urine |
|
MW |
Midwife |
|
NAD |
Nothing abnormal detected |
|
NIEL |
Not in established labour |
|
NNU |
Neonatal unit |
|
NVB/D |
Normal vaginal birth / delivery |
|
N20 |
Nitrous oxide / Entonox |
|
OA |
Occipito anterior |
|
OB |
Obstetrician |
|
OBGYN |
Obstetric gynaecologist |
|
Obs |
Observations |
|
O/E |
On examination |
|
OP |
Occipito Posterior |
|
OT |
Occipito transverse |
|
PG |
Pregnant / pregnancy |
|
PMH |
Previous medical history |
|
PN |
Post-natal |
|
PND |
Postnatal depression |
|
PP |
Presenting part |
|
PPH |
Postpartum haemorrhage |
|
PROM |
Prelabour rupture of membranes |
|
PPROM |
Premature prelabour rupture of membranes |
|
PU |
Passed urine |
|
PV |
Per vaginum / Per vagina |
|
Rh |
Rhesus |
|
RM |
Registered midwife |
|
ROA |
Right occiput anterior |
|
ROM |
Rupture of membranes |
|
ROP |
Right occiput posterior |
|
ROT |
Right occiput transverse |
|
RR |
Respiratory rate |
|
SROM |
Spontaneous rupture of membranes |
|
SCBU |
Special care baby unit |
|
SFD |
Small for dates |
|
SGA |
Small for gestational age |
|
Stat |
Straight away |
|
St MW |
Student midwife |
|
SVB/D |
Spontaneous vaginal birth / delivery |
|
TENS |
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation |
|
TOC |
Transfer of care |
|
TTC |
Trying to conceive |
|
US |
Ultrasound |
|
USS |
Ultrasound scan |
|
VB |
Vaginal birth |
|
VBAC |
Vaginal birth after caesarean |
|
VE |
Vaginal examination |
|
WNL |
Within normal limits |
|
W/ C |
Well contracted |