>>12623461TPAL Terminology
TPAL terminology is a system used to describe obstetrical history.
T— term births
P— preterm births (prior to 37 weeks gestation)
A— abortions
L— living children
Example: A woman who has 2 living children born as preterm twins in her first pregnancy would be designated as: TPAL 0-1-0-2: 0 term births, 1 delivery prior to 37 weeks gestation (preterm), 0 pregnancies ending in spontaneous or induced abortions, and 2 living children.
Separate TPAL numbers by hyphens. Obstetric history: 4-2-2-4. Alternatively, spell out the terms as follows: 4 term infants, 2 premature infants, 2 abortions, 4 living children.
GPA Terminology
Sometimes, GPA terminology is combined with TPAL terminology. GPA is the abbreviation for gravida, para, abortus. The patient is gravida 3, 3-0-0-3.
Accompanied by Arabic numbers, G, P, and A (or Ab) describe the patient’s obstetric history. Roman numerals are not used. Separate GPA sections by commas. Alternatively, spell out the terms in lower case.
Obstetric history: G4, P3, A1 or gravida 4, para 3, abortus 1. When one or more of the numbers is 0, the preferred form is to write out the terms: gravida 2, para 0, abortus 2.
G: gravida (number of pregnancies)
P: para (number of births of viable offspring)
A or Ab: abortus (abortions)
nulligravida gravida 0: no pregnancies
primigravida gravida 1, G1: 1 pregnancy
secundigravida gravida 2, G2: 2 pregnancies
nullipara para: 0 offspring
