Pregnancy

Pregnancy Terms You Should Know If You're Expecting

There's nothing more irritating than listening to a doctor (or anyone for that matter) spout off medical terminology that relates to your pregnancy without explaining what it really means.

I think sometimes doctors and other medical professionals forget we're just lay people and are more accustomed to straight talk rather than a lot of words we don't know.

Before you ever go to your first doctor's appointment when you're pregnant, you really should check out this list that has the definitions of all the words you really need to know if you're pregnant.

Here are a few examples:

• Apgar scoring system: This is a method that medical professionals use to evaluate your baby's health right after birth.
• Breech presentation: When the fetus turns prior to birth so his feet and buttocks are facing the cervix.
• Chloasma: A discoloring of the skin, usually on the face.
• Eclampsia: A condition where the mother has high blood pressure and edema. This is the more severe type of pre-eclampsia.