| pre-mRNA | precursor messenger ribonucleic acid |
|---|---|
| MSAFP | Maternal Serum Alpha(α)-Feto-Protein |
| AAMIH | American Association for Maternal and Infant Health |
| EMIC | emergency maternal and infant care; Environmental Mutagen Information Center |
| FMH | family medical history; fat-mobilizing hormone; feto-maternal hemorrhage; fibromuscular hyperplasia |
| maternal behaviour | The behaviour patterns associated with or characteristic of a mother. (12 Dec 1998) |
|---|---|
| maternal-child health centres | Facilities which administer the delivery of health care services to mothers and children. (12 Dec 1998) |
| maternal-child nursing | The nursing specialty that deals with the care of women throughout their pregnancy and childbirth and the care of their newborn children. (12 Dec 1998) |
| maternal cotyledon | A unit of the placenta made up of trophoblastic cells, fibrous tissue, and abundant blood vessels, which is visible grossly on the maternal surface as an irregularly shaped lobe circumscribed by a deep cleft and made up of a stem villus with numerous branching free villi and anchoring villi; placental vessels in the chorionic plate supply the stem villus and its branches, allowing gas and metabolite exchange across the trophoblastic layer with maternal blood in the intervillous space; traditionally called clinicians' cotyledon. (05 Mar 2000) |
| maternal death | Death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days after the termination of gestation, irrespective of the duration and site of pregnancy and the cause of death; two periods are recognised in the 42-day interval: period 1 includes day 1 to day 7; period 2 includes day 8 to day 42. Maternal death's are further classified as: (05 Mar 2000) |
| maternal death rate | The number of maternal deaths that occur as the direct result of the reproductive process per 100,000 live births. See: rate. See: maternal death. (05 Mar 2000) |
| maternal deprivation | Prolonged separation of the offspring from the mother. (12 Dec 1998) |
| maternal deprivation syndrome | <syndrome> A failure to thrive seen in infants and young children and exhibited as a constellation of physical signs, symptoms, and behaviours, usually associated with maternal loss, absence or neglect, and characterised by lack of responsiveness to the environment and often depression. (05 Mar 2000) |
| maternal dystocia | Dystocia caused by an abnormality or physical problem in the mother. (05 Mar 2000) |
| maternal effect gene | Gene, usually required for early embryonic development, whose product is secreted into the egg by the mother. The phenotype is thus determined by the mother's, rather than the egg's, genotype. Compare:. Zygotic effect gene. See: egg polarity gene. (18 Nov 1997) |
| maternal exposure | Exposure of the female parent, human or animal, to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals that may affect offspring. It includes pre-conception maternal exposure. (12 Dec 1998) |
| maternal-foetal exchange | Exchange of substances between the maternal blood and the foetal blood through the placental barrier. It excludes microbial or viral transmission. (12 Dec 1998) |
| maternal health services | Organised services to provide health care to expectant and nursing mothers. (12 Dec 1998) |
| maternal immunity | <epidemiology> Immunity for a neonate provided by IgG antibody generated by a mother and passed across the placenta to the unborn offspring. This provides short lived protection (with a typical half life of 3-6 months) to the neonate. Also known as immunity. (05 Dec 1998) |
| maternal inheritance | Inheritance through the maternal cell line, for example through the oocyte and eggs. Mitochondrial genes are maternally inherited and various other nonMendelian forms of inheritance may also appear as maternal inheritance. (18 Nov 1997) |