Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Adverse drug reaction
- An unwanted or harmful effect experienced after taking a medicine.
- Antenatal care
- The health care and check-ups a woman receives during pregnancy, before the baby is born.
- Barrier method
- A type of contraception, such as a condom, that physically blocks sperm from reaching an egg.
- Breastfeeding
- Feeding a baby with milk from the mother's breast.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Childbearing potential
- A way of describing anyone who could become pregnant.
- Commission on Human Medicines
- An expert advisory body that advises UK ministers on the safety and effectiveness of medicines.
- Contemporaneous record
- A note written at the time of, or immediately after, the event it describes, so it is accurate and reliable.
- Contraindicated
- Describes a situation in which a medicine or treatment should not be used because it could be harmful.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The UK law that sets the rules for how personal information must be handled and protected.
- Effective contraception
- A reliable method of preventing pregnancy, used correctly and consistently.
- Emergency contraception
- Contraception used after unprotected sex, or a contraception failure, to help prevent pregnancy.
- Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH)
- The professional body that sets standards and guidance for contraception and sexual health care in the UK.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers doctors in the UK and sets the standards they must follow.
- General practitioner (GP)
- A family doctor who provides general medical care in the community.
- GLP-1 receptor agonist
- A type of medicine that mimics a natural gut hormone (glucagon-like peptide-1) to reduce appetite, used for weight management and not safe in pregnancy.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations that set out the fundamental standards of safety and quality that care providers must meet.
- Independent prescriber
- A trained nurse, pharmacist or other professional allowed to prescribe medicines in their own right, without a doctor's sign-off.
- Last menstrual period (LMP)
- The first day of a person's most recent period, used to help work out whether they could be pregnant.
- Maternity care
- The care provided to a woman during pregnancy, birth and the period shortly after.
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
- The UK body that regulates medicines and medical devices and monitors their safety.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Pre-conception care
- Advice and health checks given to someone before they try to become pregnant, to support a healthy pregnancy.
- Pregnancy exposure
- When a pregnant person has taken, or been given, a medicine that may affect the pregnancy or baby.
- Prescriber
- A clinician, such as a doctor or qualified nurse or pharmacist, who is authorised to decide and order a patient's medicines.
- Registered manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Registered pharmacist
- A pharmacist registered with the regulator who is qualified to supply and advise on medicines.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Signpost
- To direct a patient to another service or professional who can provide the help they need.
- Single assessment framework
- The structure the regulator uses to judge a service, built around quality statements and five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- A written, step-by-step instruction setting out how a particular task must be carried out consistently and safely.
- Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC)
- The official document for a medicine that describes how it should be used, including its risks and any situations in which it must not be used.
- Triage
- Sorting patients by how urgent their needs are, so the right level of care is given in the right order.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.
- Washout period
- The time a medicine must be stopped before a planned pregnancy so it can fully clear from the body.
- Yellow Card scheme
- The UK system for reporting suspected side effects of medicines and safety problems, run by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.