Published Sep 27, 2009
jvnCSUFSN
6 Posts
scenario:
Nancy is pregnant. Her first pregnancy resulted in a stillbirth at 36 weeks, and her second pregnancy resulted in the birth of her daughter at 42 weeks. Describe her OB history in terms of G-TPAL:
My main question about this scenario is what does stillbirth count as?
Pre-term because it is passed 20 weeks? Or does it count as an abortion because it is a stillbirth?
HELP!
Circejane
136 Posts
Preterm is 20-36 weeks, yes? Full term is 37-42. Therefore that birth would be a preterm birth. The fact that it was stillbirth would be reflected in the last number, living children.
Abortion is the pregnancy ending before 20 weeks, no matter the cause.
jbjints
236 Posts
Your patient is:
Gravida: 2
Term: 1
Preterm: 1
Abortion: 0
Living: 1
OB was never my strong point but I believe I am correct on the history.
PiedPiperRN
129 Posts
I always thought that it was an interesting flaw in TPAL system that miscarriages and medical abortions are not distinguished. That can tell you if a woman who is G10A10 should see a gynology specialist vs. a referal for a better method of contraceptive. I guess that it is up to the nurse to ask. I wonder if this was established purposefully to protect the privacy of the patient?
FYI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TPAL_(medicine)
kfarinato
139 Posts
wouldn't she be g3, t1, p1, a0, and l1?
she's had 3 pregnancies(the g-counting the current one, 1 term baby, 1 preterm baby, no abortions or miscarriages, and has 1 living child)
Yes, she's G3. You always count a current pregnancy.
dscrn
525 Posts
Yes, G stands for gravida..total number of pregnancies, including this one.