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Mastitis
An infection of a milk duct in the breast, which is most common after delivering a baby, whether breast or bottle-feeding. Fever, an area on your breast that is reddened, sore, hard or hot are all symptoms of mastitis.
Meconium
The baby’s first bowel movements, which are often black or green and sticky.
Mesoderm
The germ layer of the baby that forms connective tissue, muscles, kidneys and other organs.
Midwife
A woman who provides prenatal care to pregnant women as well as care during and after labor and delivery. Midwives provide more personal, woman-focused support. They usually work with a backup physician or group of physicians they can call on to deal with pregnancy or birthing problems.
Miscarriage
Giving birth to a baby, involuntarily, before it can survive outside the mother’s womb, usually before 20 weeks gestation.
Mongolian Blue Spot
A form of birthmark with large bluish spots, which are more common in darker-skinned babies. These marks usually fade or disappear later in childhood.
Mongolism
Also know as Down’s syndrome, is a chromosomal disorder that caused mental retardation.
Montgomery’s Tubercles
The tiny bumps around the areola, which are glands that enlarge during pregnancy.
Morning sickness
Nausea with or without vomiting, usually during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Moro Reflex
Also known as the ‘startle reflex’, is a reflex that is present at birth and typically disappears after a few months. It can be triggered by a sudden change in position or a loud noise. When babies are startled, they suddenly reach out their arms and hands, extend the neck, then bring the arms together and may even cry loudly. This reaction is normal and it even occurs during sleep.
Mucus Plug
A “plug” of mucus that blocks the cervical canal during pregnancy. The plug is loosened and passed prior to labor or during labor, when the cervix starts to thin out and dilate.
Multigravida
A woman who has had at least one previous pregnancy.
Multipara
A woman who has given birth to two or more babies.
Nesting
A behavior that can be a sign of impending labor. An overwhelming, sudden need to prepare for the new baby, cleaning obsessively and feeling energetic are all classified as ‘nesting’.
Non-Stress Test
A test that helps a doctor examine the condition of an unborn baby by measuring the heart rate in response to his or her own movements or uterine contractions.
Obstructed Labor
A labor in which something (like the pelvic bone or the baby’s shoulders) is preventing the normal process of labor and delivery.
Ovarian Cyst
A fluid-filled sac, similar to a blister that forms in an ovary. They can occur when an egg matures in a small sac or follicle on the surface of the ovary, but the egg isn’t released from the sac like normal and the sac doesn’t dissolve. If the cyst doesn’t go away on it’s own within a couple of months, it may need treatment.
Ovulation
The release of a mature egg from an ovary. Fertilization can only occur within a day or two of ovulation.
Oxytocin
Also known as ‘pitocin’, is a hormone in your body that contributes to the start of labor. It is also in the form of medication, given by doctors to induce or stimulate uterine contractions.
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