Outline of obstetrics

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to obstetrics:

Obstetrics – medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy (prenatal period), childbirth and the postnatal period.

What is obstetrics?[]

Obstetrics can be described as all of the following:

Medicine – medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness in human beings.
- Medical specialty – branch of medical science. After completing medical school, physicians or surgeons usually further their medical education in a specific specialty of medicine by completing a multiple year residency to become a medical specialist.
Academic discipline – In addition to being a medical specialty, obstetrics is the study of the reproductive process within the female body, including fertilization, pregnancy and childbirth.

History of obstetrics[]

Childbirth and obstetrics in antiquity

Obstetrical History[]

Gravidity
Parity
Gravida/para/abortus
TPAL

Pregnancy and childbirth[]

Family planning[]

Family planning
- Birth control
  - Contraception
- Pre-conception counseling

Female reproductive anatomy[]

Conception[]

Human fertilization

Testing[]

Prenatal stage[]

Prenatal development[]

Prenatal development
- Fundal height
- Gestational age
- Human embryogenesis
- Maternal physiological changes

Prenatal care[]

Prenatal care – regular medical and nursing care recommended for women during pregnancy. Also known as antenatal care.
- Prenatal nutrition
  - Maternal nutrition
  - Nutrition and pregnancy
- Concomitant conditions
  - Diabetes mellitus and pregnancy
  - Systemic lupus erythematosus and pregnancy

Prenatal monitoring[]

Childbirth[]

Childbirth

Preparation for childbirth[]

Roles during childbirth[]

Doula
Midwife
Mother – a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that united with a sperm which grew into a child. During childbirth, she is the patient.
Perinatal nursing
Men's role in childbirth
Obstetrician