OBSTETRICS CARE GUIDE

OB TERMS

Acute care hospital (also Acute Care General Hospital) is a hospital for sick and injured people. They usually have emergency rooms and intensive care units.

Antenatal or prenatal care means the care you receive during your pregnancy. Tests in this time can include ultrasound scans, amniocentesis and fetoscopy. These tests can help doctors learn whether the baby is developing normally.

Ante partum or prepartum means before labor or childbirth. Antepartal care of a pregnant woman starts as soon as you become pregnant and ends when labor starts.

Average allowed amount is a term insurance companies use to describe the fixed amount of money they’ll pay for a service. Each of the different services doctors or hospitals charge may have an average allowed amount. Average allowed amounts can be much less than average charges.

Average Hospital charges are the average hospital charges for a patient’s hospital stay for a vaginal or cesarean delivery. Insurance carriers may "allow" a lower payment than average charges. Consumers without health insurance coverage may be charged an amount closer to average charges. Patients hospitalized for long periods of time, or admitted and discharged on the same day or where there were no charges are not included in this calculation.

Average length of stay means the average number of days women spend in the hospital to give birth and recover. The number of days includes prepartum and postpartum inpatient hospital care. Patients hospitalized for long periods of time, or admitted and discharged on the same day are not included in this calculation.

Birthing center is a place for low-risk, primarily natural childbirth procedures. Certified nurse-midwives usually staff birthing centers. (See also freestanding birthing center.)

Birthing room is a home-like bedroom in a hospital. Your family can be with you as you labor and deliver. Birthing rooms are used often to make it seem more like a home delivery.

Cesarean section is a surgery where the doctor makes a cut in the mother’s abdomen and uterus to remove the baby. Also known as a c-section or cesarean birth cesarean childbirth.

Certified Nurse Midwife or CNM is a registered nurse with extra training and education. A CNM has passed an exam to be licensed as a nurse practitioner in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Delivery room is a type of hospital room where women deliver their babies. They recover and stay in a different room after the baby is born.

Episiotomy is a cut made by the doctor or nurse midwife into the mother’s vagina and other muscles in the area between the thighs during the birth process.

Freestanding birthing center is a birthing center separate from the hospital. Some birthing centers are connected to the hospital by a walkway or hall. Some are nearby a hospital.

Injured infant fund is a special state fund known as the Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Fund. This program will provide lifelong care for infants with serious birth-related neurological (brain) injuries as defined by Virginia law. Eligible babies must be delivered by a participating doctor or at a participating hospital.

Instrumented vaginal delivery means the doctor uses devices, such as forceps of suction vacuum to help deliver a baby.

Labor, delivery, recovery (LDR) room is different from a delivery room because the mother stays in this room the whole time she’s in the hospital. She can labor, deliver and recover in the same space.

Labor, delivery, recovery, postpartum (LDRP) room is a maternity care single room where mothers can labor, deliver, recover and stay for the postpartum period.

Level of care describes the kind or extent of treatment or procedure a patient receives. It also can describe the medical level of professional that is responsible for and provides the care.

Level of care/obstetrical refers to the kind of treatment for obstetric patients, or pregnant women. Hospitals have a kind of checklist or guide about how to identify women or developing babies who are at high risk. Some hospitals can take care of you if you are considered high risk. Others may want to refer you to a hospital that is more prepared to handle a higher level of care. Ask your doctor/ or CNM if you are a high-risk patient.

Level of care/nursery or newborn describes how well prepared a hospital is to take care of newborns with special needs. There are four service levels.

A general level newborn service provides care to newborns of low risk. These babies weigh at least 4.4 pounds, and the pregnancy has passed 34 weeks before the baby is born.
An intermediate level newborn service is for smaller babies. These babies can be moderately ill, or they might have low birth weight but are growing. As soon as they gain enough weight, they can be discharged.
A specialty level newborn service provides intensive care to high-risk newborns. These babies have illnesses that need special equipment and the staff is trained to provide special care.
A subspecialty level newborn service provides intensive care for high-risk, critically ill newborns. These babies have complex newborn illnesses. Pediatric (children’s) medical and surgical doctors are in the hospital to help take care of these babies.

Medical history is a detailed review of the patient’s health, all the way to childhood or birth. The history includes the patient’s family’s health patterns, if known. A medical history also includes questions about lifestyle, such as whether you smoke, drink or exercise. These answers can help doctors or nurses see whether there are habits you can change to make sure you and your baby are as healthy as possible.

Neonatologist is a pediatrician, or specially trained children’s doctor, who has extra training and a license to treat at-risk newborns. These doctors can treat newborns with illnesses or disorders from the time they’re born until the babies are 28 days old.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is sometimes called the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. Doctors and nurses who are trained in taking care of babies born prematurely – early – or with special needs work together as a team. The team may include neonatologists and specially trained nurses. Surgeons or radiologists or others who understand the special needs of newborn babies can be part of the team, too. In the NICU, even the beds are special. They provide warmth and isolation, so the baby isn’t exposed to germs. Doctors and nurses can measure vital signs, such as heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. If blood- and feeding-related equipment is needed, it is in the NICU as well.

Nursery Unit is the place in a hospital where newborns stay. Trained staff watches and takes care of the newborns.

Obstetrics is the medical field that deals with childbirth and pregnant women

Obstetrical beds are the hospital beds and rooms set aside for women who come to have babies there. There is trained staff who know how to provide care for pregnant mothers and newborns.

Obstetrical service without a designated unit is a term for a hospital where you can deliver a baby. But there is not a fully staffed obstetrical unit.

Obstetrical care unit is an area of the hospital that provides maternity services. It has the staff and space for women to labor, deliver and recover. It can include a place to take care of the baby for the first 28 days of life. Usually, it includes a nursery unit. Some hospitals can provide these services, even if they don’t have a unit set aside for it.

OB trauma rate is a number that explains how often women have serious tears in the vagina or perineum during the birthing process. There are two sets of numbers. One is for a birthing process with instruments, such as forceps and vacuum suction. The other is for a birthing process without them.

Operative labor room is a special delivery room where doctors can operate, if necessary. The surgery might be a cesarean birth, for example.

Outpatient is the word for a patient who is treated in a hospital but doesn’t need to stay for a full day. It can also mean someone who is treated at a facility that is outside of the hospital.

Outpatient birth is childbirth that occurs outside the hospital, usually either at the patient’s home or in a birthing center.

Out-of-pocket expense (or out-of-pocket fee) is the amount of money that you pay before your insurance company pays the rest. It may be part of a deductible or a co-pay. Perinatologist is an obstetrician who specializes in care of the mother and fetus before, during and/or after delivery when the mother and/or fetus are at a high risk for complications.

Doctor charges are the fees your doctor charges. Whether you have insurance or not, be sure to ask what the doctor charges are. Insurance companies will make sure that the charges are consistent with what other similar doctors in similar places are charging.

Postpartum is the time after the baby is born.

Prenatal means before childbirth

Primary cesarean is a woman’s first cesarean birth.

Puerperium is the first six weeks following childbirth.

Repeat cesarean is a woman’s second or later childbirth by cesarean.

Risk is a term doctors use to describe the chance of problems. Based on experience and research, for example, they know that a woman who smokes or drinks is likely to be at a higher risk for complications for herself and for the baby. A baby who is developing complications can also put the mother at higher risk. You can ask your doctor or certified nurse midwife what you can do to lower the risk to you and your baby.

Screening (also screening center) examination is a test to see whether there might be a disease or defect. It also helps to see who is at high risk. These can include blood pressure checks, heart rate monitoring or sonograms.

Shoulder dystocia is a complication that can occur during birth. As the baby move down the birth canal, one shoulder can get stuck. It is a medical emergency.

Sonogram is a visual image produced by an ultrasound exam. It gives doctors a kind of shadowy image of the baby as the baby develops.

Surgical procedure is a medically appropriate surgery. The surgery can be to treat diseases, injuries and deformities. A surgeon is the specially trained doctor to do a surgery.

Tubal sterilization or tubal ligation is a surgery to permanently stop a woman from having babies. In the surgery, the fallopian tubes (through which a woman’s eggs travel) are closed. They may be cut, tied, burned or removed. It cannot be reversed or undone.

Women's hospital is a hospital just for women. Some women’s hospitals are freestanding, or apart from, a parent hospital.

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