Glossary

Paediatric services

Medical services relating to the care and medical treatment of children.

PCT

Primary Care Trust. Regional NHS bodies that are responsible for commissioning (ordering and buying) NHS services locally.

Perinatal care

The care and management for newborn babies, up to 7 days after the day of delivery.

Perinatal death

Stillbirths and deaths up to 7 days post-partum.

Placenta

The organ in the womb that provides the fetus with nutrition and oxygen during the pregnancy.

Pre-eclampsia

A disorder that occurs during pregnancy and the postpartum period and affects both the mother and the unborn baby. It is a rapidly progressive condition characterised by high blood pressure and the presence of protein in the urine. Pre-eclampsia and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are a leading global cause of maternal and infant illness and death.

Pre-implantation biopsy

The taking of one or two cells from an embryo before transfer to the woman´s uterus for laboratory examination. Used in the context of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) / pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS).

Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)

A screening process in which one or two cells from an embryo are removed, to test for a specific gene that causes an inherited disease.

Pre-implantation Genetic Screening for aneuploidy (PGS)

A screening process in which one or two cells from an embryo are removed, to test that they contain the correct number of chromosomes and not more or less than usual (aneuploidy). Only normal appearing embryos will be selected for transfer.

Prematurity

The current World Health Organisation definition of prematurity is a baby born before 37 weeks of gestation, counting from the first day of the last menstrual period.

Pre-term labour

Labour prior to 37 weeks of gestational age.