Dictionary Definition
biparous adj : producing two offspring at a time
[syn: twinning]
User Contributed Dictionary
Extensive Definition
- For other uses of the term in other fields, see parity.
In medicine, parity is a technical
term that refers to the number of times a woman or female animal has given
birth.
A woman who has never given birth is referred to
as being nulliparous, a nullipara or para 0. A woman who has given
birth a particular number of times is referred to as para 1, para
2, para 3 and so on. Biparous or bipara are sometimes used as
synonyms for para 2.
A woman who has given birth two or more times is
referred to as multiparous. The term multiparous can also be used
to describe someone who has given birth to more than one offspring
at once. Grand multipara refers to a woman who has given birth five
or more times.
Parity is recorded in the format, T-P-A-L, where
T is the number of term births, P, the number preterm
births, A, the number of abortions (spontaneous or induced) and
L, the number of living children. For example, parity of a woman
who has given birth at term once and has had one miscarriage would
be recorded as P 1-0-1-1.
Term births are those occurring at 37 weeks or
beyond. Preterm births are those that occur before 37 weeks.