Meconium: the first stool of an infant composed of materials ingested during the time the infant spends in the uterus.
Menses (menstruation): the blood flow from the uterus that happens about every 4 weeks in a woman.
Miscarriage: an unplanned loss of a pregnancy. Also called a spontaneous abortion.
Mittelschmerz: lower abdominal and pelvic pain that occurs roughly midway through a woman’s menstrual cycle. The pain can appear suddenly and usually subsides within hours. It is also known as “ovulation pain” or “midcycle pain.”
Multigravida: a woman who has been pregnant more than one time.
Natural birth: a childbirth philosophy that attempts to minimize medical intervention, particularly the use of anesthetic medications and surgical interventions such as episiotomies, forceps, and caesarean sections.
Neonatal: relating to the first 28 days of an infants life.
Neural tube defect: a major birth defect caused by abnormal development of the neural tube, or the structure in an embryo which develops into the brain and spinal cord. Neural tube defects are among the most common birth defects that cause infant death and serious disability. The most common neural tube defects are anencephaly, spina bifida, and encephalocele.
Nine Months Due: relating to the delivery due date of a woman’s full term pregnancy.
Obstetrician: a medical doctor that specializes in the care of a woman during her pregnancy, childbirth and for a short amount of time after childbirth.
Ovaries: part of a woman’s reproductive system, the ovaries produce her eggs. Each month the ovaries release eggs. If an egg is fertilized by a man’s sperm, a woman becomes pregnant. If the egg is not fertilized, the egg and the lining of the uterus are shed during a woman’s monthly menstrual period.
Ovulation: When the ovaries release an egg, about once each month, as part of the menstrual cycle.