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 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 or 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.

Parity is recorded in the format, T-P-A-L, where T is the number of full-term births, P, the number premature births, A, the number of abortions and L, the number of living children. For example, parity of a woman who has given birth to one full-term child and has had one miscarriage would be recorded as P 1-0-1-1.

See also

• Gravidity

External links

Gynecology