How should you document the obstetric history of a 38-week pregnant woman who has had one previous miscarriage at 19 weeks?

To accurately document the obstetric history of a pregnant woman, the terms "gravida" and "para" are used. Gravida refers to the total number of pregnancies a woman has had, while para indicates the number of pregnancies that have reached viability (typically 20 weeks or more).

In this scenario, the woman is currently 38 weeks pregnant, which counts as her second pregnancy. Thus, she is classified as Gravida 2.

The woman has also experienced one previous pregnancy loss (miscarriage) at 19 weeks. Since this miscarriage occurred before the threshold of viability (20 weeks), it does not count towards the number of viable births. Therefore, her para, which represents the number of pregnancies that have reached viability, remains at 0.

Thus, the correct documentation is Gravida 2, para 0—indicating the woman has had two pregnancies overall, one currently ongoing, and zero viable births, as the previous miscarriage did not meet the viability threshold.

This understanding distinguishes the correct answer, reflecting the woman’s pregnancy history accurately according to the definitions used in obstetric documentation.