Discover my complete list of the Essential French Medical Vocabulary related to pregnancy. Download the comprehensive 100 terms with full explanation and check below just a sample of 25 terms I prepared for you!

Getting pregnant changed my life and of course my little world of French vocabulary and new information I needed to understand. There are so many things to learn! Indeed, I have been overwhelmed with the information and everything in French. From the visits to the doctor, and even if you can communicate in French, it is complicated as the new vocabulary connected with pregnancy are more than just ‘bebe’. But step by step, you can learn it, I am still learning…as the learning is the best part of our lives! 

This time I want to share with you the essential french medical vocabulary related to your pregnancy. I found it here and added few additional useful words. This is very important to understand the French doctor and the French medical staff. Less fun vocabulary but also essential when you are going to give birth and need to follow their orders. So check out the 25 top difficult medical french vocabulary related to pregnancy and download the comprehensive and useful list of 100 here.

1. liquide amniotique – amniotic fluid – the liquid that surrounds a baby in the uterus (also called ‘waters’)
2. sac amniotique – amniotic sac – the sac around the baby inside the uterus
3. Apgar score – Apgar score – a test given one minute after a baby is born, then again five minutes later, that assesses a baby’s appearance (skin colour), pulse, grimace (reflex), activity (muscle tone) and respiration. A perfect Apgar score is 10; typical Apgar scores are seven, eight or nine. A score lower than seven means that the baby might need help breathing
4. canal de naissance – birth canal – the passageway (made up of the cervix and vagina) that the baby travels through during birth
5. contractions de Braxton Hicks – Braxton Hicks contractions – a tightening of the uterus (womb) that may feel like a labour contraction. Braxton Hicks contractions are not painful and do not get stronger and closer together like true contractions (also called ‘false labour’)
6. rupture d’eau – breaking of water – when a healthcare practitioner bursts the sac holding the amniotic fluid using an instrument with a pointy tip. Often used to speed up a labour that has slowed
7. la culasse – breech – when the baby is positioned inside the uterus with its bottom or feet down, instead of its head
8. le col de l’utérus – cervix – the narrow, lower end of the uterus that softens and opens during labour to allow the baby to come out
9. la contraction – contraction – the often strong and painful tightening of the uterus during labour that causes the woman’s cervix to dilate and that helps push the baby through the birth canal
10. le couronnement – crowning – time during labour when the baby’s head has reached the external vaginal opening and can be seen from the outside
11. la dilatation – dilation – the opening of the cervix, measured as the diameter of the cervix in centimeters
12. l’ embryon– embryo – the name given to a fertilised egg from the time of conception until the eighth week
13. la fertilité – fertility – being able to conceive and carry a baby though to the end of the pregnancy
14. acide folique – folic acid – a B vitamin found naturally in green leafy vegetables that helps prevent anaemia and has been shown to reduce the incidence of some birth defects including spina bifida (see definition below)
15. l’ incontinence – incontinence – an inability to control your bladder or bowel movements
16. l’ accouchement – labour – the process a woman’s body goes through when her baby is born
17. consultante en lactation – lactation consultant – a healthcare professional who is trained to provide information and support about breastfeeding
18. la sage-femme – midwife – a person who has been specially trained to care for women during pregnancy, labour, birth and the post-birth period
19. obstétricien – obstetrician – a doctor who has undertaken specialist training  in pregnancy and childbirth
20. ovaires – ovaries – the female reproductive organs that release eggs into the fallopian tubes, where they may be fertilised if sperm are present
21. ovulation – ovulation – the monthly release of a mature egg from an ovary. A woman is most fertile around the time of ovulation
22. ovule – ovum – a human egg
23. le périnée – perineum – the area between the vagina and anus
24. placenta – placenta – the organ that connects to the wall of the uterus, that nourishes the baby through the umbilical cord
25. les vergetures – stretch marks – discoloured stripey patterns that can appear on the abdomen, breasts, buttocks or legs during pregnancy because of skin stretching. They usually fade slowly after delivery

Difficult French vocabulary, isn’t it? But so important and essential in France when you are pregnant or your second half is. It has been first frustrating then interesting experience to have to understand the doctors and the whole medical staff in France. I hope you will miss out on the frustrating part. Good luck!