Glossary

Afterpains: cramps in the first days after birth as the uterus shrinks back, often stronger during breastfeeding.

Apgar score: a quick check of a newborn's heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflexes and colour at 1 and 5 minutes after birth, scored out of 10. Assisted birth: a vaginal birth helped by a vacuum cup (ventouse) or forceps.

Baby blues: weepiness and mood swings in the first two weeks after birth, very common and passing.

Baby-led weaning: starting solids with soft finger foods the baby feeds themselves, rather than spoon-fed purees.

Braxton Hicks contractions: practice tightenings of the uterus in late pregnancy that do not open the cervix.

Caesarean birth (C-section): birth through a cut in the abdomen and uterus. Cervix: the neck of the uterus, which softens, thins and opens to about 10 cm in labour.

Cluster feeding: several feeds close together, often in the evening, common in the early weeks and during growth spurts.

Colic: long bouts of crying in a healthy baby, classically more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week, usually easing by 3 to 4 months.

Colostrum: the thick, yellowish first milk, rich in antibodies, made in small amounts in the first days.

Corrected age: a preterm baby's age counted from their due date rather than their birth date, used for development until about age 2.

CTG (continuous fetal monitoring): a machine that records the baby's heart rate and the contractions during labour.

Diastasis recti: a widening of the gap between the two sides of the abdominal muscles after pregnancy.

Dilation: the opening of the cervix in labour, measured in centimetres. Effacement: the thinning and shortening of the cervix in late pregnancy and early labour.

Engorgement: full, hard, sometimes painful breasts, often when milk comes in around days 2 to 5.

Epidural: pain relief through a fine tube placed in the lower back, numbing the belly and legs in labour.

Episiotomy: a cut made in the perineum to widen the opening for birth. Fontanelles: the soft spots on a baby's head where the skull bones have not yet joined.

Fourth trimester: the first three months after birth.

Golden hour: the first hour after birth, ideally spent skin to skin. Group B strep (GBS): a common bacterium that can pass to a baby in labour; antibiotics in labour lower the risk.

Induction: starting labour artificially.

Jaundice: yellowing of the skin and eyes from bilirubin, common in the first week.

Kangaroo care: holding a baby, especially a preterm baby, skin to skin on your chest.

Latch: how the baby attaches to the breast to feed.

Latent phase: the early part of labour, while the cervix thins and opens to about 5 or 6 cm.

Let-down: the release of milk during breastfeeding, triggered by oxytocin. Lochia: the bleeding and discharge from the uterus after birth, lasting about 4 to 6 weeks.

Mastitis: inflammation of the breast, sometimes with infection, causing a red, painful area and flu-like symptoms.

Meconium: a newborn's first sticky, dark green-black stools.

Milia: tiny white spots on a newborn's nose and face that go away on their own.

Moulding: the temporary shaping of a newborn's head from the journey through the birth canal.

NICU: neonatal intensive care unit, where sick or preterm newborns are cared for.

Object permanence: understanding that things still exist when out of sight, which develops in the second half of the first year.

Oxytocin: the hormone behind contractions, milk let-down and bonding; a synthetic form is used to start or speed up labour.

Paced bottle feeding: a slower, baby-led way of bottle feeding that lets the baby control the flow.

Pelvic floor: the sling of muscles at the base of the pelvis supporting the bladder, bowel and uterus.

Perineum: the area between the vagina and the anus.

Pincer grasp: picking up small things between thumb and forefinger, usually from about 8 to 10 months.

Placenta: the organ that nourished your baby in the uterus, born after the baby in the third stage of labour.

Plagiocephaly: a flat spot on a baby's head from lying in one position. Postpartum depression: depression in the year after birth, more lasting and severe than the baby blues, and treatable.

Postpartum hemorrhage: heavy bleeding after birth.

Postpartum psychosis: a rare, serious mental illness after birth needing emergency care.

Reflux: milk coming back up from the stomach, very common in babies and usually harmless.

Rooting reflex: a newborn turning toward a touch on the cheek, mouth open, ready to feed.

Separation anxiety: distress when a parent leaves, common from about 8 months.

Skin-to-skin: holding your bare baby on your bare chest.

Sleep regression: a period when a baby who was sleeping well wakes more, often around 4 months and 8 to 10 months.

Spinal anesthesia: a single injection in the back that numbs the lower body, used for most caesareans.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS): the sudden, unexplained death of a baby during sleep; safe sleep practices lower the risk.

Tummy time: supervised time on the tummy while awake, building neck, shoulder and arm strength.

Umbilical cord stump: the remaining piece of cord on the belly button, which dries and falls off within about 1 to 3 weeks.

Vernix: the white, creamy coating on a newborn's skin.

Vitamin K: given to newborns at birth to prevent a rare but serious bleeding problem.

VBAC: vaginal birth after a previous caesarean.