One of the most common questions missed in the EMT and Paramedic OBGYN test involve the terms Gravida and Para.

No one wants to hear the paramedic yell over the radio and then to the ER staff that "this chick has been pregnant 5 times; she had two kids, two miscarriages, and an abortion." So, since these are pertinent factors that need to be communicated in some OB calls, we use G/P/A.

Quick version: Gravida means pregnancies and Para means live births. If your patient has had a miscarriage and two live births, you could say she was Gravida 3, Para 2 or simply G3 P2. If the patient has had an abortion, a third notation (A) for Abortus can be used.

A more detailed explanation of the rules and finer points courtesy of Wikipedia:

• Gravida indicates the number of times the mother has been pregnant, regardless of whether these pregnancies were carried to term. A current pregnancy, if any, is included in this count.
• Para indicates the number of viable (>20 wks) births. Pregnancies consisting of multiples, such as twins or triplets, count as ONE birth for the purpose of this notation.
• Abortus is the number of pregnancies that were lost for any reason, including induced abortions or miscarriages. The abortus term is sometimes dropped when no pregnancies have been lost.

Therefore, the history of a woman who has had two pregnancies (both of which resulted in live births) would be noted as G2P2. The obstetrical history of a woman who has had four pregnancies, one of which was miscarried, would be noted as G4P3A1. That of a woman who has had one pregnancy of twins with successful outcomes would be noted as G1P1