Ever wondered what all those strange abbreviations in your hospital notes stand for? All is revealed...
Alb
Albumin, a protein in your urine could mark a potential problem, or an infection such as cystitis
BP
Blood Pressure – you’ll see two figures in this reading: the top one is the systolic measurement (when your heart pushes the blood through your body) and the lower one is the diastolic pressure (in the pause between heartbeats); a sudden rise in blood pressure could indicate a problem.
EDD
Expected Date of Delivery (sometimes EDC, Expected Date of Confinement) – worked out using the date of your last period or the ultrasound dating scan.
Eng
Engagement – when your baby’s head moves down into your pelvis later in pregnancy.
FH
Fetal Heart – FHH means the fetal (baby’s) heart was heard.
FMF
Fetal Movement Felt – your baby may manage a good kick during a check up.
Fundus
The top of the uterus (womb) – the height the fundus has reached in your abdomen is a sign of how many weeks pregnant you are.
Hb
Haemoglobin – the iron-containing part of your red blood cells that carries oxygen around your body. Levels below 10 may mean you need extra iron.
LMP
Last Menstrual Period – this date is used to work out when your baby is due
NAD
No Abnormality Detected – it means everything’s fine.
NE
Not Engaged – towards the end of pregnancy, you may see numbers such as 3/5 or 4/5, which show how much of the baby’s head is felt in your abdomen. These figures are only an estimate.
Oedema
This means swelling. It may be measured by one two or three plus signs [+ /++/ +++] or Nil (which means none).
Presentation - PP
The way the baby is lying – head up or down, or sideways.
Sugar
It’s common to find a trace of sugar in your urine, but a high level could mean further tests to see if you are developing diabetes .
Tr
Trace – you may see ‘Tr blood’ or ‘+ blood’ if there is a small amount of blood in the urine (perhaps from an infection, but nothing to worry about if you haven’t noticed any bleeding yourself).
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