The title of this post is composed of words that were used on the “after visit summary” I received at the doctor’s office yesterday. I believe multigravida means there is more than one baby inside that uterus of mine, which I’m pretty sure is 100% false.* I don’t know what my “antepartum condition” is, other than my elderly gravida, but I thought I should share this enigmatic summary with you.
Given my abnormal results from the first-trimester screening (my hormone levels weren’t what the medical establishment would like them to be), we had yet another ultrasound yesterday! This time, we were told, the tech was looking for growth and not so much, say, multiple heads or not enough kidneys. I was a little nervous before hand because, as much as it is wonderful to get another look at the little sweet potato, I was scared that something would be wrong. Alas, we are again blessed and lucky because Little Girl appears to be coming along just fine. She weighs just under three pounds, has an adequate amount of amniotic fluid to move around in, and even looked as though she were sucking her thumb. This time, the 3D image the tech created looked a lot less like an extra from the C-horror film Baby Aliens from the Womb and more like a little munchkin you’d love to cuddle with. I breathed another deep sigh of relief.
After the appointment, we returned to the lab so that I could have my blood drawn. I had ingested a lovely cocktail that tastes nostalgically reminiscent of McDonald’s Orange Drink (what a clever name!) before the doctor’s appointment and had to wait an hour before the blood could be taken. Fingers crossed that gestational diabetes is not an issue.
*UPDATE (April 2013): I guess I was mistaken and misinformed. Multigravida means the woman has been pregnant before, so this is her second or third or fourth, etc., pregnancy. This, too, was not a correct diagnosis for me, as this was my first – and only – pregger-nancy.
life and puppies 
what a stressful visit. So happy to hear all is well with you and pumpkin.
“multigravida” means it is your second or more pregnancy, not that you have two in the womb. I have the same designation, having my 2nd at 36 – don’t you love being called “elderly”! Good luck.
Thanks! But actually, it was my first (and only!) pregnancy…And she’ll be one in under two weeks! I can’t believe it; it’s gone so fast.
C’mon people. The definition of “Elderly Primigravida, Antepartum” is easily Googled, and it has nothing to do with multiple pregnancies or multiple babies inside the uterus. I know because I was diagnosed with the same thing, and Googled it, and that’s how I found the actual definition (along with this blog).
“Elderly Primigravida, Antepartum” is nothing more than the ICD-9-CM medical diagnosis code (code 659.53) which means:
* Elderly primigravida (a woman who becomes pregnant for the first time after the age of 34)
* Advanced maternal age, 1st pregnancy
I’m not really sure what you’re talking about, Socaljewel. No one was talking about elderly primigravida…Instead, as the title of the post reveals, I was diagnosed with elderly MULITgravida (mistakenly, but still).