Obstetrics

Definition: Obstetrics

Obstetrics

Noun

1. The branch of medicine dealing with childbirth and care of the mother.

Date "obstetrics" was first used: 1819. (references)

Specialty Definitions: Obstetrics

Domain	Definitions
Health	A medical-surgical specialty concerned with management and care of women during pregnancy, parturition, and the puerperium. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Obstetrics

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Obstetrics is the surgical specialty dealing with the care of a woman and her offspring during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (the period shortly after birth).

Antenatal care

In obstetric practice, the obstetrician will see a pregnant woman on a regular basis as her pregnancy progresses. The exact schedule varies depending on resources and risk factors, such as diabetes.

The main rationale for these visits is surveillance for diseases of pregnancy which are detectable. Some examples are:

pre-eclampsia. The blood-pressure and urine of a pregnant woman is checked at every opportunity to check for this
placenta praevia. On ultrasound, the placenta is visible obstructing the birth canal
abnormal presentation (late pregnancy only). The foetus may be feet-first (breech), side-on (transverse), or at an angle (oblique presentation)
IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Restriction) , this is a general designation, where the foetus is too small for its age. Causes can be intrinsic (in the foetus) or extrinsic (usually placental problems)

Induction

An obstetrician may recommend a woman have her labour induced if it is felt that continuation would be more dangerous to her, the foetus, or both. Reasons to induce include:

pre-eclampsia
IUGR
diabetes
other general medical condition, such as renal disease

Induction usually occurs at 38 weeks gestation. At this age the foetal lung is fully mature. Note that pre-eclampsia is a reason to induce earlier.

If a woman does not eventually labour by 41-42 weeks, induction is performed, as the placenta becomes unstable after this date.

Induction is achieved by 3 methods:

pessary of Prostin cream, prostaglandin E₂
surgical induction, by piercing the amniotic sac
infusion of oxytocin

Labour

During labour itself, the obstetrician may be called on to do a number of things:

monitor the progress of labour, by reviewing the nursing chart, performing vaginal examination, and assessing the trace produced by a foetal monitoring device (the cardiotocograph)
accelerate the progress of labour by infusion of the hormone oxytocin
provide pain relief, either by nitrous oxide, or opiates (epidurals are done by anaethestists)
surgically assisting labour, by forceps or the Ventouse (a suction cap applied to the foetus' head)
Caesarean section, if vaginal delivery is decided against or appears too difficult. Caesarean section can either be elective, that is, arranged before labour, or decided during labour as an alternative to hours of waiting. True "emergency" Cesarean sections (where minutes count) are a rarity.

Emergencies in obstetrics

Two main emergencies are eclampsia and ectopic pregnancy.

Ectopic pregnancy is when an embryo implants in the Fallopian tube or (rarely) on the ovary or inside the peritoneal cavity. Tubal pregnancies are very dangerous, as at about 4-10 weeks the tube bursts, causing massive internal bleeding.

Ectopic pregnancy must be considered in any woman with abdominal pain who has the slightest chance of being pregnant. Diagnosis is by a positive pregnancy test and a uterus empty on ultrasound. Treatment is by laparoscopy, and the tube is incised and excavated.

Pre-eclampsia is a disease caused by mysterious toxins secreted by the placenta. These toxins act on the vascular endothelium, causing hypertension and proteinuria. If severe, it progresses to fulminant pre-eclampsia, with headaches and visual disturbances.

This is a prelude to eclampsia, where a convulsion occurs, which is often fatal.

The only treatment for eclampsia, or advancing pre-eclampsia is delivery, either by induction or Caesarean section. Women can be stabilised temporarily with magnesium sulphate. Delivery as early as 28 weeks is not unknown.

Synonyms: Obstetrics

Synonyms: midwifery (n), tocology (n). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Obstetrics

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Production	Bringing forth; Verb:: parturition, birth, birth-throe, childbirth, delivery, confinement, accouchement, travail, labor, midwifery, obstetrics; geniture; gestation; (maturation); assimilation; evolution, development, growth; entelechy; fertilization, gemination, germination, heterogamy, genesis, generation, epigenesis, procreation, progeneration, propagation; fecundation, impregnation; albumen.
Remedy	Orthopedics, orthopedy, orthopraxy; pediatrics; dentistry, midwifery, obstetrics, gynecology; tocology; sarcology.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Obstetrics

English words defined with "obstetrics": accoucheur ♦ obstetric, obstetrical, obstetrician, Obstetricy ♦ perinatology. (references)

Specialty definitions using "obstetrics": Ergot Alkaloids ♦ MUSIC THERAPIST ♦ NURSE, PRIVATE DUTY, nurse, specia, NURSE, SUPERVISOR ♦ obstetric, obstetrical, Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Hospital. (references)

Etymologies containing "obstetrics": Obstetricy. (references)

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Commercial Usage: Obstetrics

Domain	Title
Books	Benson and Pernoll's Handbook of Obstetrics and Gynecology (reference) Proceedings of the Symposium on Epidural Analgesia in Obstetrics, Kingston Hospital, Kingston upon Thames, 18th March 1971 (reference) Ovulation Induction (Clinical Perspectives in Obstetrics and Gynecology) (reference) Telephone Triage for Obstetrics and Gynecology (reference) What Do I Say?: Communicating Intended or Unanticipated Outcomes in Obstetrics (reference) (more book examples)

Periodicals	Excerpta Medica - Section 10 Obstetrics & Gynecology (reference) Core Journals In Obstetrics & Gynecology (reference) Best Practice And Research In Clinical Obstetrics And Gynaecology (reference) Bjog: An International Journal Of Obstetrics And Gynaecology (reference) Current Obstetrics & Gynaecology (reference) (more periodical examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Obstetrics

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Photo Album: Obstetrics

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	U.S. Air Force Hospital, Tyndale Air Force Base, Panama City, FL. : Obstetrics ward No. 4.Credit: National Library of Medicine.		Paterson Clinic, 750 Broadway, Paterson, New Jersey. Obstetrics examination room.Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Obstetrics

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		First used during World War II to detect enemy submarines below the surface of the water, ultrasound has since been used safely in obstetrics. (references)
		A non-Federal, nonadvocate, 12-member panel representing the fields of oncology, radiology, obstetrics and gynecology, geriatrics, public health, and epidemiology and including patient representatives. (references)
Economic History	Bahrain	The hospital's specialties include dental surgery, pediatrics, internal medicines eye treatment, obstetrics, gynecology, minor and major theater work. (references)
	Saudi Arabia	During 2001, the Ministry of Health invited bids for the management, operation, and refurbishment of the King Fahd Medical City, which encompasses four major hospitals (General, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Rehabilitation). (references)
	Syria	The Ministry of Health also claims to be in the process of constructing as many as 47 government hospitals, including specialized facilities for pediatrics, cardiology, gynecology and obstetrics, neuro-surgery, cancer treatment and eye procedures. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Usage Frequency: Obstetrics

"Obstetrics" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Obstetrics" is used about 61 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	100%	61	43,149

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Obstetrics

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
obstetrics	270	british obstetrics password	4
gynecology obstetrics	120	college gynecology obstetrics royal	4
american gynecology journal obstetrics	62	forceps obstetrics	3
american college gynecology obstetrics	54	advanced in life obstetrics support	3
gynecology journal obstetrics	33	creek obstetrics walnut	3
american board gynecology obstetrics	27	area bay obstetrics	3
british gynecology journal obstetrics	10	gynecology international journal obstetrics	3
american college obstetrics	9	history obstetrics	3
williams obstetrics	9	american association gynecology obstetrics	3
journal obstetrics	8	board certification gynecology obstetrics	3
american journal obstetrics	7	obstetrics oklahoma tulsa	3
british journal obstetrics password	6	obstetrics nurse	3
clinical obstetrics and gynecology	6	british obstetrics password royal	3
american board obstetrics	5	obstetrics career	3
atlanta gynecology obstetrics	5	certification exam gynecology obstetrics	3
board gynecology obstetrics	4	gynecology medical obstetrics	3
academy american gynecology obstetrics	4	board certification exam gynecology obstetrics	3
obstetrics nursing	4	obstetrics job	3
ultrasound in obstetrics and gynecology	4	academy american obstetrics	3
high risk obstetrics	4	college gynecology obstetrics	3
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Obstetrics

Language		Translations for "obstetrics"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		obstetrikë. (various references)

Arabic		‏مولدات, ‏قابلات (midwife), ‏علم التوليد, ‏طب التوليد. (various references)

Bulgarian		акушерство (midwifery, tocology, tokology). (various references)

Chinese		产科学. (various references)

Czech		porodnictví (midwifery). (various references)

Danish		obstetrik (obstetrical, tocology), foedselsvidenskab (obstetrical). (various references)

Dutch		obstetrie (obstetrical), vroedkunde (obstetrical), verloskunde (obstetrical). (various references)

French		obstétrique (obstetrical). (various references)

German		Geburtshilfe (midwifery), Obstetrik (obstetrical), Geburtshilfen (midwiferies). (various references)

Greek		μαιευτική (midwifery). (various references)

Hebrew		מילדות (gynecology, midwifery). (various references)

Hungarian		szülészet (maternity hospital, maternity ward, midwifery, obstetricy, tocology, tokology). (various references)

Indonesian		kebidanan (midwifery). (various references)

Italian		ostetricia (midwifery). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		産科学 , 産科 . (various references)

Japanese Katakana		さんかがく, さんか (admiration, affiliated with, calamity, eulogy, mountain nomads, mountain villa, oxidation, paean, participation, praise, song of praise, three summer months, under jurisdiction of, under the umbrella). (various references)

Korean		산부인과. (various references)

Manx		reaylteyrys. (various references)

Pig Latin		obstetricsay

Portuguese		obstetrícia (midwifery, obstinacy, tokology), médico parteiro. (various references)

Romanian		obstetricã (midwife, tocology). (various references)

Russian		акушерство (midwifery, tocology, tokology). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		porodiljstvo (tocology, tokology), akušerstvo (midwifery). (various references)

Spanish		obstetricia (midwifery). (various references)

Swedish		obstetrik, förlossningskonst. (various references)

Turkish		ebelik (midwifery, tocology), doğum ve gebelik bilimi, doğum doktorluğu. (various references)

Ukranian		акушерство (midwifery). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Obstetrics

Language	Period	Translations
Modern Latin	1500-Modern	obstetricus. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Misspellings: Obstetrics

Misspellings
	"Obstetrics" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: obstectrics, obsterics, obstretics, onstetrics, ostertags. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Obstetrics"

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "obstetrics" (pronounced ubste"triks)
6	-e" t r i k s	econometrics, geometrics, metrics.
5	-t r i k s	eccentrics, electrics, geriatrics, matrix, Pediatrics, theatrics.
4	-r i k s	atmospherics, bishoprics, clerics, fabrics, generics, hysterics, lyrics, oryx.
3	-i k s	academics, acoustics, acrobatics, acrylics, aerobatics, aerobics, aerodynamics, aeronautics, aesthetics, affix, alcoholics, analgesics, analytics, anesthetics, anorexics, antibiotics, antics, apparatchiks, appendix, asthmatics, astronautics, astrophysics, athletics, attics, automatics, avionics, ballistics, basics, batiks, beatniks, bioethics, biologics, biophysics, calisthenics, Calix, calyx, catholics, ceramics, cervix, characteristics, charismatics, civics, classics, clinics, comics, conics, cosmetics, Criminalistics, critics, cynics, demographics, diabetics, diagnostics, diuretics, domestics, dynamics, economics, electrodynamics, electronics, epics, epidemics, ergonomics, ethics, ethnics, eugenics, exotics, fanatics, forensics, genetics, geopolitics, gimmicks, graphics, gymnastics, harmonics, helix, hemodynamics, heroics, hieroglyphics, histrionics, hydraulics, hypnotics, informatics, ionics, italics, kibbutzniks, kinetics, limericks, linguistics, logistics, macroeconomics, Magnetics, mathematics, mavericks, mechanics, medics, metaphysics, microeconomics, microelectronics, micrographics, mimics, mnemonics, mosaics, mystics, narcotics, Nucleonics, numismatics, onomastics, onyx, optics, orthodontics, panics, paramedics, Phenix, Phoenix, phonetics, phonics, photovoltaics, physics, plastics, polemics, prefix, prosthetics, psychics, publics, pyrotechnics, refuseniks, relics, reprographics, republics, robotics, romantics, semantics, semiotics, skeptics, sonics, specifics, sputniks, statistics, stoics, suffix, synthetics, systematics, tactics, Technics, tectonics, therapeutics, thermoplastics, tonics, topics, toxics, tropics, workaholics.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Obstetrics

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "b-c-e-i-o-r-s-s-t-t"
	-1 letter: bisectors, obstetric.
	-2 letters: bisector, bistorts, cottiers, crosstie, scotties, trisects.
	-3 letters: bestirs, bettors, bisects, bisters, bistort, bistres, bistros, bitters, bossier, corbies, corsets, cosiest, costers, cotters, cottier, erotics, escorts, obtests, orbiest, riboses, rosiest, scoters, scottie, scribes, sectors, sitters, sorbets, sorites, sorties, stories, strobes, strobic, tricots, trioses, trisect.
	-4 letters: besots, bestir, bettor, birses, bisect, bister, bistre, bistro.
	Words containing the letters "b-c-e-i-o-r-s-s-t-t"
	+2 letters: obstructives.
	+3 letters: bacteriostats, obstetricians.
	+4 letters: bacteriostases, bacteriostasis.
	+5 letters: bacteriologists, obstructiveness, semiabstraction, streptobacillus.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.