Understanding your antenatal notes

When you go for your first antenatal visit you may be given your “hand held” antenatal notes or these may be given to you when all the results are available.

Your midwife or doctor will record details here of routine tests and your pregnancy's progress, as well as any special tests. You may find your notes difficult to understand because many of the medical terms are abbreviated. Compare these with those listed here. If your notes still don't make sense, ask your midwife or doctor to explain.

Take your notes when you go to the clinic. In fact, it's best to carry them all the time, so that if you need medical attention, the information is at hand. And take them with you to the hospital when you go into labour.

Understanding the terms on your antenatal notes

NAD or nil or a tick: No abnormality detected
BP: Blood pressure
FH: Fetal heart
FMF: Fetal movements felt
Ceph: Cephalic, baby is head down
Vx: Vertex, baby is head down
Br: Breech, baby is bottom down
LMP: Last menstrual period
EDD/EDC: Estimated date of delivery/confinement
Hb: Haemoglobin levels (to check for anaemia)
Eng/E: Engaged (baby's head has dropped down into the pelvis ready for birth)
NE: Not engaged
Para 0: Woman has had no other children
Para 1 (etc): Woman has had one or more children
Fe: Iron has been prescribed
TCA: To come again
TOS: Trial of scar (expected normal delivery after Caesarean section)
Height of fundus: The height of the top of the uterus. The baby pushes this up as he grows and often the height is used to work out how many weeks you are. The height of the fundus (from the top of the pubic bone to the top of the uterus) is measured with a tape measure in centimetres
IUGR: Intrauterine growth restriction
SFD: Small for dates
IOL: Induction of labour
ARM: Artificial rupture of membranes
SRM: Spontaneous rupture of membranes
PET: Pre-eclamptic toxaemia
Long L: Longitudinal lie (the baby is lying parallel to your spine in your uterus)
AFP: Alpha-fetoprotein
CS: Caesarean section
LSCS: Lower segment Caesarean section
VBAC: Vaginal birth after Caesarean
H/T: Hypertension (high blood pressure)
MSU: Midstream urine sample
Primigravida: First pregnancy
Multigravida: More than one pregnancy
VE: Vaginal examination
1/5–5/5: Indicates extent of head engagement