New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules
Mid - Midwifery Council
Chapter Mid 500 - SCOPE OF MIDWIFERY PRACTICE
Part Mid 501 - DEFINITIONS
Section Mid 501.01 - Definitions

(a) "The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)" means a fellowship of physicians with special interest in obstetrics and gynecology and the promotion of women's reproductive health care.

(b) "Apgar assessment" means an evaluation of the newborn based on an assessment of the heart rate, respiration, reflexes, color, and muscle tone, performed at intervals of one minute and 5 minutes after birth.

(c) "Apgar score" means a numerical expression of the results of an Apgar assessment.

(d) "Central cyanosis" means a bluish discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes involving the whole body and resulting from a lack of oxygen in the blood.

(e) "Certified nurse-midwife (CNM)" means a registered nurse who has graduated from a nurse-midwifery education program accredited by the Division of Accreditation of the American College of Nurse-Midwives and has successfully taken the national examination required for designation as a CNM by the Certification Council of the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

(f) "Consultation" means the process whereby a NHCM who maintains primary management responsibility for the client seeks the advice or opinion of another appropriate healthcare practitioner.

(g) "Extended postpartum period" means the period from the birth of the newborn to 6 weeks after the birth.

(h) "Fetal heart auscultation" means listening to the fetal heartbeat through the abdominal and uterine walls of the mother.

(i) "Freestanding birth center" means an out-patient maternity care facility.

(j) "Grand multiparity" means the condition of having borne 7 or more children.

(k) "High grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HGSIL)" means squamous cells that are highly suggestive of being pre-cancerous or pre-invasive cancerous.

(l) "Holistic care" means care which attends to the needs of the client in all areas, including physical, emotional, and social.

(m) "Home birth" means a planned home delivery attended by a midwife taking primary responsibility for the care of the mother and the newborn.

(n) "Immediate postpartum period" means the period from birth until the midwife determines that mother and newborn are in stable condition.

(o) "Cervical insufficiency" means the premature painless dilatation of the cervix typically at 24 to 26 weeks gestation, which, without medical intervention, is often associated with repeated second trimester spontaneous abortion.

(p) "Intrapartum" means the period from the onset of labor to its completion with the delivery of the placenta.

(q) "Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR)" means a decreased rate of growth of the fetus.

(r) "Large for gestational age (LGA)" means a newborn weighing over 9 pounds, 8 ounces.

(s) "Multigravida" means a woman who has been pregnant 2 or more times.

(t) "Oligohydramnios" means an abnormally small amount of amniotic fluid during pregnancy.

(u) "Out-of-hospital birth" means a home birth or a birth in a freestanding birth center.

(v) "Pap test" means a procedure by which cells are collected and tested in a laboratory for pre-cancer and other abnormal conditions.

(w) "Placenta previa" means the condition whereby the placenta is implanted in the lower portion of the uterus, covering the cervix marginally, partially, or completely.

(x) "Placental abruption" means premature separation of the placenta from the uterine wall.

(y) "Polyhydramnios" means an excess of amniotic fluid during pregnancy.

(z) "Preeclampsia" means a combination in the mother of hypertension, fluid retention, protein in the urine, and brisk reflexes.

(aa) "Primigravida" means a woman who is pregnant for the first time.

(ab) "Prenatal" means during the period of time between conception and the onset of labor.

(ac) "Postpartum" means occurring after childbirth.

(ad) "Rh immune globulin" means a preparation used to prevent the development of Rh antibodies in Rh negative mothers.

(ae) "Rh sensitivity with positive antibody titre" means the development by a pregnant Rh negative woman of antibodies which might cross the placenta and destroy the cells of an Rh positive fetus.

(af) "Significant PP hemorrhage" means blood loss of greater than 1,000 cubic centimeters.

(ag) "Small for gestational age (SGA)" means a newborn weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces.

(ah) "Squamous cells" means flat, scaly cells forming the outer surface of the body and lining the body cavities and the principal tubes and passageways leading to the exterior of the body.

(ai) "Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)" means a vaginal birth after any previous delivery by cesarean section.