After your first couple of meetings with your midwife you may find yourself feeling confused and wondering how you’re going to get through the next few months. Here’s what it all really means…
Primip
To be fair, this is another language – Latin. Primip comes from primipara, and means a woman who’s pregnant for the first time. Midwives shorten it to primip. A woman with more than one baby is a multip.
Height of the fundus
Don’t worry, this has nothing to do with a yeast infection. The fundus is the top of your bump, and midwives measure from there to the pubic bone to get a good idea of how well your baby is growing.
Bloods
When you’re told by your midwife that she needs to “do your bloods”, she means it’s time for some blood tests. She’ll explain what she’s testing for, and it’s like a regular blood test, taking blood from a vein in your arm.
BP
This refers to your blood pressure, which your midwife should take at every appointment. Some women find that they experience a rise in blood pressure during pregnancy, which can also be a sign of pre-eclampsia, a serious condition, so it’s important to be checked regularly.
Birth plan – the other ‘BP’
Unfortunately, you can’t plan your birth completely. But you can write your ‘best case scenario’, so the doctors know what you’d prefer. It’s not an official form, just your own notes on everything, from where you’d like to give birth to pain relief. It’s not a legal contract either, so nobody can wave it in your face when you change your mind!
Birth Notes Explained
Your birth notes will probably seem like a lot of scribbles and capital letters. Before you hit the Internet search engine, here are the main ones you might see:
LMP: Last Menstrual Period
EDD: Estimated date of delivery (your due date)
VE: Vaginal delivery
ARM: Artificial rupture of membranes (when the midwife breaks your waters)]
CTG: Cardiotocograph (a machine that monitors the baby’s heartbeat)
SROM: Spontaneous rupture of membranes (your waters breaking)
NAD: Nothing abnormal detected
FMF: Foetal movements felt, or ‘your baby’s having a wriggle’
FHHR: Foetal heart heard and regular
