Today, we’re going to do something completely different. A good long while ago, we went through a very small amount of the terminology you might hear over the course of your pregnancy and the time after your baby is born. But where do those words come from? Many of them are far from intuitive as to what they mean, and there’s a reason for that. As with a lot of the language related to medicine, a not insignificant percentage is derived from Greek and Latin. However, they often were only reintroduced into what would become modern usage within the last 500-800 years (and sometimes later). For this reason, we thought it might be fun to look into the etymology of some of those words. Knowing their history and how they developed can sometimes make it much easier to keep track of what they mean and how they are used today.
Amniotic – This is a word that is still very close to its origin – the Latin amnion means ‘membrane around a fetus’. This is still what it means – the bag containing the baby and the fluid they float in.
Apgar – This one bucks the trend a little in that it’s not derived from an older language. It is, in fact, the last name of the anaesthesiologist who created the scale, Virginia Apgar, which then became what is known as a backronym – that is, the word was applied first, then an acronym created out of it. For those who might need a reminder, the Apgar score is a non-invasive test administered twice – at one and five minutes after the birth of a baby – and is a quick way to assess the immediate health of a newborn.
Cervix – In this context, it has actually been shortened from a longer phrase – cervix uteri. Cervix itself is Latin and means ‘neck’. Similarly, the bones of your neck are part of your cervical spine. In obstetrics and gynaecology, however, it’s referring to the narrow part of the uterus where it joins with the vagina – looking rather like a neck.
Colostrum – Colostrum is a Latin word meaning “first milk of an animal”. It hasn’t really changed since then!
Embryo – Ultimately from Greek (though by way of Latin), this word originally meant ’a young one’ and ‘fruit of the womb’. Your baby will be known as an embryo for the first eight weeks of pregnancy, and after that, it is called a foetus.
Foetus/Fetus – Another Latin word, in this case, meaning pregnancy, childbearing, or offspring (among other related meanings). By the late fourteenth century, it had come to refer to the young while still in the egg or the uterus (depending on the animal in question).
Fontanelle – This is another one that comes from somewhere other than Greek or Latin. Fontanelle is borrowed from the French word of the same spelling, which is itself a diminutive of Fontaine – the same place the English fountain comes from. In this context, it meant “hollow between muscles”, and has now come to mean the soft spot between skull bones that have yet to fuse.
Forceps – This is a compound of two Latin words: formus, meaning hot, and the root of capere, meaning to hold or take. As you may have worked out, it’s an old name for tongs used to hold hot items (especially as used by smiths), though the tongs we use for our food are quite different from medical forceps – hence the divergence in names.
Gestation – Gestation is a word that hasn’t changed a whole lot over time. It is from a Latin word, gestationem, a form of the word gestatio, which means carrying or bearing. As an aside, it was also once used in English (all the way back in the 1500s) to refer to horse riding!
Meconium – From the Greek mikonion, this actually means “poppy juice”. Supposedly, Aristotle noted that babies with meconium in the amniotic fluid were sleepier than those without.
Midwife – Midwife is interesting in that the component “wife” didn’t originally mean what we think of now. It comprises the Middle English words mid, meaning “with”, and wif, meaning “woman”. Therefore, together they mean “with woman”. This is why the title midwife remains consistent whether the midwife in question is a man or a woman – though “male midwife” is also commonly used.
(Ante/Post) Natal – The Latin word natalis, meaning “pertaining to birth”, ultimately gave rise to the word natal, and it hasn’t changed a great deal in that time. We use the prefix ante (Latin for ‘before’) and post (meaning ‘after’) to differentiate whether we’re talking about before the baby is born (antenatal) or after (postnatal).
Neonate – While this is another Latin-based term, it was actually not coined until 1905, so is relatively recent (by language standards, that is). Neo means new, while nate comes from the same source as natal. Put together, neonate therefore refers to the newly born – generally the first four weeks of a baby’s life after they have been born.
Obstetric – This one is an interesting one. Obstetric/s refers to a specialist field of medicine focusing on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, but the name itself comes from the Latin obstetrix (meaning midwife). Obstetrix itself comes from the root word obstare, which means “to stand opposite” or “be present”, making it not entirely dissimilar to the Middle English-derived midwife.
Oedema – Something a large number of pregnant mothers have to deal with, oedema (also spelled ‘edema’) is the build-up of fluid in the body’s tissues, causing swelling – usually, in the case of pregnancy, in the extremities such as ankles. So it will come as little surprise to learn that the term itself comes from the Greek word oidein, which means ‘to swell’.
Placenta (also placenta previa) – You’re probably familiar with what the placenta is – it’s the organ that connects the developing baby to the uterus, allowing the transfer of oxygen and nutrients. The word itself? Latin placenta meaning ‘flat cake’, from the Greek word plakoenta, which means ‘flat’. This is because of the placenta’s appearance – the human placenta is large, round and flat. In comparison previa is two Latin words – prae (now pre), meaning before, and via, meaning way, thus "before way" or, more specifically, "in the way". Placenta previa, therefore, means the placenta is in the way, and is a term used when the placenta has developed close enough to the internal cervix that it can block the way out.
Trimester – This comes from the Latin word trimestris via the 17th century French word trimester, both of which mean ‘of three months’. Tri is the same word often found in words relating to ‘three’, such as triangle or trilogy. Mestris can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European word menses, meaning moon or month – the same root also leads to menstruation!
Uterus – Also known as the womb, the uterus is where the baby grows. This word is unchanged from its Latin inspiration, both in spelling and meaning. This in turn comes from the Proto-Indo-European word udero, which also gives the Greek word hystera, from which we get hysterectomy, the surgery to remove the uterus. So, they are different-sounding words that ultimately have the same root and meaning!
Umbilical – This one is fairly straightforward. Umbilicus is the Latin origin, and it means navel – another word for belly button, which is exactly where the umbilical cord attaches.
Ventouse – A ventouse is a vacuum cup that attaches to a baby’s head to assist with delivery. It comes from French, where it means “suction cup”.
Vernix – Vernix, full name vernix caseosa, is the white, slightly waxy layer that newborns are coated with. It has several functions, including potentially waterproofing the skin while in utero, lubricating the skin during delivery, and acting as a barrier postnatally to prevent infections. In Latin, vernix means ‘varnish’, while caseosa means ‘cheesy’, as the vernix can sometimes have a cheese-like appearance.
Womb - Finally, we’ll look at womb. This is a Middle English word meaning belly, heart, uterus or hollow, and is derived from the Proto-Germanic word wambō, which referred to the stomach and abdomen.