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Obstetric Terms 


Harriet S. Meyer

Two colloquial shorthand expressions quantify an individual’s obstetric history: GPA and TPAL. The GPA and TPAL expressions are familiar and widely used clinically. However, they are also recognized as imprecise and lacking in standardization. (pp225-226)The letters G, P, and A (or Ab) accompanied by numbers indicate number of pregnancies, births of viable offspring, and number of spontaneous or induced abortions, respectively. Definitions of viability vary and in articles should be specified. In the expansions below, the clinical meaning associated with the GPA shorthand appears; the Latin terms refer to the individual (see any medical dictionary): For example, G3, P2, A1


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