You have heard and seen the term “g3 p1-0-2-1” and questioned yourself “What does G3 P1-0-2-1 mean?” Don’t worry, you can find the right answer to it in this article.
The answer to your question is: G3 P1-0-2-1 indicates a woman who was pregnant three times, one full-term birth, two abortions or miscarriages before 20 weeks gestation, and one living child.
Furthermore, in this article, we will go deeper into understanding the terms of obstetric history like the “G3 P1-0-2-1”. We will figure out the meaning of each number and letter and know how to interpret the obstetric term through various examples.
What Do G And P Mean For Pregnancy?
In terms of pregnancy, G and P are obstetrical words representing your obstetric history. G is Gravida – number of pregnancies, and P is Para – number of births of viable offspring.
In simple words, G and P are medical shortened terms used to explain how many pregnancies and births a female has had.
- G = Gravida: indicates a female’s total number of pregnancies, regardless of pregnancy outcomes. If the female has a current pregnancy, it is also included here.
- P = Parity (or para): indicates the outcome of a female’s every pregnancy after 20 weeks, including living births or stillbirths.
For example, if a female has a current pregnancy, two previous pregnancies, and two living children, her obstetric history is Gravida 3, Para 2 (G3 P2).
But if she used to have one abortion or miscarriage, how can we note it in the obstetric history? In this case, we use the denotation Abortus (abortion).
- Abortus (abortion), abbreviated as A or Ab, is the term used to indicate the number of pregnancies lost by abortion, miscarriage, or termination.
- Besides, the suffix “+” is also used to indicate the abortion/miscarriage/termination times, especially in the UK.
So, the obstetric history of this time will be G3 P2 A1 or G3 P2+1, which means a female has been pregnant 3 times and has 2 living birth and 1 abortion.
How To Record Gravidity And Parity?
We can use the GPA and GTPAL coding systems to record Gradivity and Para for the obstetric history.
GPA system
The GPA system includes three main obstetric terms: gradivity, para, and abortus.
- Gradivity (G): the pregnancy times in total (including current pregnancy).
- Para (P): the number of pregnancies after 20 weeks gestation.
- Abortus (A): abortion or miscarriage times during pregnancy (<20 weeks).
For example:
- G1P1 means one pregnancy and one birth after 20 weeks gestation;
- G2P02 means two pregnancies, 0 successful birth, and 2 miscarriages/abortions before 20 weeks gestation.
GTPAL system
This system is more detailed than the GPA system and can be demonstrated as follows:
- G = gravidity – total number of pregnancies *
- T = number of term births (>37 weeks gestation)
- P = number of preterm births (between 20-37 weeks gestation)
- A = number of abortions/miscarriage (<20 weeks)**
- L = number of living children
* The gravidity term includes the number of both past and current pregnancies. If the female has a multiple pregnancy, such as twins or triplets, the gradivity G is equal to 1.
** The abortion term refers to either spontaneous or induced abortions and miscarriages and includes ectopic pregnancies, which are prior to 20 weeks gestational age. If the abortion is carried out after 20 weeks, the number of preterm births (P) will increase, but the number of living children (L) remains unchanged.
Let’s see the following examples of how the obstetric history is recorded and interpreted using the GTPAL coding system.
1. When a female is currently pregnant, with one full-term birth, one pre-term birth delivered at 27 weeks gestation but died one week later, and one living child, her pregnancy history would be G3 P1 T1 A0 L1, or shortened as G3 P1101.
- G is 3 because she was pregnant twice and is currently pregnant.
- P is 1 because she had one full-term birth.
- T is 1 because she had one pre-term birth (<37 weeks gestation).
- A is 0 because she had no loss during her pregnancy.
- L is 1 because she has 1 living child from the full-term birth.
2. A female’s obstetric history showed G4 P2113, so it would be interpreted as she had four pregnancies, two full-term births, one pre-term birth, one abortion or miscarriage before 20 weeks gestation, and three living children.
Reading GPA and GTPAL – Examples
We will go through eight examples of the GPA and GTPAL records.
- Example 1: What does G3 P11 mean?
G3 P11 shows that a woman has been pregnant three times, one birth after 20 weeks gestation, and one miscarriage or abortion (<20 weeks).
- Example 2: What does G3 P1011 mean?
G3 P1011 means three pregnancies, one full-term birth (successful), one miscarriage/abortion before 20 weeks gestation, and one living child.
- Example 3: What does G3 P02 mean?
G3 P02 – A female who has been pregnant three times and had two miscarriages or abortions before 20 weeks. In this case, because P = 0, she is currently pregnant.
- Example 4: What does G4 P2022 mean?
G4 P2022 indicates the pregnancy history of four pregnancies, two full-term births, two miscarriages or abortions, and two living children.
- Example 5: What does G2 P2002 mean?
G2 P2002 means two pregnancies, two full-term births, and two living children.
- Example 6: What is the pregnancy history of a female who is currently pregnant and has three full-term births and three living children?
The pregnancy history for this woman would be G4 P3003.
She has a current pregnancy and three full-term births, so G is counted as 4, and P is counted as 3. Three births are alive, so L, the last number, is 3.
- Example 7: What is the pregnancy history of a female who has been pregnant three times with 3-year-old twin daughters delivered at 38 weeks gestation and two sons ages 5 and 7
It would be G3 P3004.
She has four kids, but G is counted as 3 because she has twin daughters, meaning she had a multiple pregnancy (twins) which is counted as G=1. So, having two sons and twins means G=3.
- Example 8: What is the pregnancy history of a woman who has a current pregnancy and had twins in her first pregnancy?
This woman’s pregnancy history will be G2 P1002.
She is currently pregnant and had twins in her first pregnancy, this means she has two pregnancies or G=2. Her first pregnancy is successful, so P=1 (one full-term birth of twins).
Problems with the GTPAL recording system
The problem with GPA and GTPA systems is that it causes some misinterpretation for the obstetric occurrences between 20-24 weeks gestational age and for multiple pregnancies.
FAQs
What is called stillbirth?
When a baby is born dead after 24 weeks of pregnancy, it is called a stillbirth.
An unborn baby’s death before 24 weeks is considered a miscarriage or a late foetal loss.
What is the Gravida of twins?
The gravida (G) of twins is 1.
If the twins pregnancy is a successful birth, the pregnancy history will be G1 P1, given that the mother has been pregnant for the first time.
What does it mean if a woman is gravida 3 para 2 abortion 1?
It means she had three pregnancies, two birth after 20 weeks gestational age, and one abortion or miscarriage.
Video: Gravida And Para Interpretation Made Simple
References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravidity_and_parity
- https://www.meditec.com/resourcestools/medical-words/obstetrics-words
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preterm_birth
- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stillbirth/#:~:text=A%20stillbirth%20is%20when%20a,miscarriage%20or%20late%20foetal%20loss.
I’m Renee L. Bazile, and I’m passionate about health and fitness. Keeping fit and active has always been a passion of mine.
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