Letter P

Perinatology

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A subspecialty of obstetrics concerned with the care of the mother and fetus at higher-than-normal risk for complications.

Since the perinatal period, depending on the definition, starts at the 20th to 28th week of gestation and ends 1 to 4 weeks after birth, perinatology logically could be an obstetrical and pediatric subspecialty but, in practice, it is part of obstetrics.

The comparable area of pediatrics is neonatology.

A high-risk baby might be cared for by a perinatologist before birth and by a neonatologist after birth.

The word 'perinatology' is a linguistic sandwich of the Greek 'peri-' meaning 'around or about', 'natal' from the Latin 'natus' meaning 'born' and 'ology' from the Greek 'logos' meaning 'treatise or study of.

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