OB terminology

[fleasle]

Hi all,

I am a student and our class is having a debate (awaiting clarification from instructor) as to what exactly para is. Specifically...if there is a primigravida who is due any day now (obviously beyond the 20 weeks) is she a para 1 yet or not until after she delivers? In other words, does para only indicate delivery or any pregnancy beyond 20 weeks? I would appreciate any help from you seasoned OB nurses. We have two textbooks that both are vague in description and do not address the current pregnancy.

Thanks!

[daisybaby, LPN]

Hi- according to Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary (19th Ed), parity is "The condition of having carried a pregnancy to a point of viability (500g birth weight or 20 weeks' gestation) regardless of the outcome."

So it's my understading that a primigravida woman who is at 20 weeks would be gravida 1, para 1. Using the standard GTPAL acronym, though, she would be 1 0 0 0 0 until she is no longer pregnant.

Hope that helps!

[camay1221_RN]

Hi all,

I am a student and our class is having a debate (awaiting clarification from instructor) as to what exactly para is. Specifically...if there is a primigravida who is due any day now (obviously beyond the 20 weeks) is she a para 1 yet or not until after she delivers? In other words, does para only indicate delivery or any pregnancy beyond 20 weeks? I would appreciate any help from you seasoned OB nurses. We have two textbooks that both are vague in description and do not address the current pregnancy.

Thanks!

Hi!

If the woman is still pregnant, she is considered G1 Para 0

[Fun2, BSN, RN]

Maybe someone else could help more, but I learned it this way:

Gravida=pregnancy

Para = given birth

primigravida = a women pregnant with her first pregnancy

Therefore, if a woman has had 4 pregnancies, but only 2 births, I would write:

para 2 / gravida 4

Someone please correct me if I remember this wrong.

[BETSRN]

Hi all,

I am a student and our class is having a debate (awaiting clarification from instructor) as to what exactly para is. Specifically...if there is a primigravida who is due any day now (obviously beyond the 20 weeks) is she a para 1 yet or not until after she delivers? In other words, does para only indicate delivery or any pregnancy beyond 20 weeks? I would appreciate any help from you seasoned OB nurses. We have two textbooks that both are vague in description and do not address the current pregnancy.

Thanks!

Para refers to live births. If she is a primip (primigravida :meaning first pregnancy) and still pregnant then she is a gravida 1 para 0 ( or G1P0), because she has not delivered as yet.

[CA CoCoRN, RN]

Not to step on your toes...but para refers to BIRTHS (beyond the age of "viability", 20 weeks)...period. NOT just LIVE births. You're still a para 1 if you've given birth to a 21 weeker or a 38 weeker who's stillborn/doesn't make it.

Your GPTPAL would look like this: G1P1 (Term: 0, Preterm: 1; AB:0; Living: 0 )

[aedis_aegypti]

she is g1 p0..parity refers to completed pregnancy...

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Para is defined as any pregnancy beyond 20 weeks, regardless of the outcome.

So often at work I hear someone say "oh, she's a G5P1 with a hx of two IUFDs at 26 & 30 weeks." So, she's had a baby just now. That makes her a G5P3 now, assuming that the other losses were before 20 weeks.

If she's still pregnant in a first pregnancy, she's still a G1P0.

[beckinben, CNM]

Here's two definitions of para for you:

"Para: A number that by itself refers to the number of babies delivered that were of sufficient size (500g) or gestational age (20 weeks) to be considered viable, or a series of numbers that summarize the outcomes of previous pregnancies." Williams Obstetrics (21st ed.)

"Para refers to the number of pregnancies that terminated in the birth of a fetus or fetuses that reached the point of viability. This point is considered to be 20 weeks' gestation (or 500 grams)." Varney's Midwifery (4th ed.)

Both of these seem to clearly indicate that the woman must be delivered (i.e. the pregnancy is over) to have an increase in her parity. A primagravida due any day would still be a G1P0.

[RNmama05]

My understanding as well is that the term we often use for a G1 P0- "primipara"- is really a misnomer since if a woman has not yet delivered she is technically a "nullipara".

A woman who comes in as a G1 P0, and then delivers, is also still considered a G1 P0 until after discharge.

Here's two definitions of para for you:

"Para: A number that by itself refers to the number of babies delivered that were of sufficient size (500g) or gestational age (20 weeks) to be considered viable, or a series of numbers that summarize the outcomes of previous pregnancies." Williams Obstetrics (21st ed.)

"Para refers to the number of pregnancies that terminated in the birth of a fetus or fetuses that reached the point of viability. This point is considered to be 20 weeks' gestation (or 500 grams)." Varney's Midwifery (4th ed.)

Both of these seem to clearly indicate that the woman must be delivered (i.e. the pregnancy is over) to have an increase in her parity. A primagravida due any day would still be a G1P0.

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

My understanding as well is that the term we often use for a G1 P0- "primipara"- is really a misnomer since if a woman has not yet delivered she is technically a "nullipara".

A woman who comes in as a G1 P0, and then delivers, is also still considered a G1 P0 until after discharge.

She becomes a G1P1 the second she delivers.

But you are right in that if she's G1P0, she's still a nullipara and a primigravida.

[RNmama05]

She becomes a G1P1 the second she delivers.

We do not calculate the current delivery in the parity since the point of TPAL is to document a woman's history. We do not change her records during the course of the hospitalization.