gestationel

Gestationel is an adjective used in medical French and in bilingual medical English to describe anything pertaining to gestation, the period of prenatal development from conception until birth. The term derives from Latin gestatio and is cognate with the English term gestational. In English, the spelling gestational is more common; in French, gestationnel serves a similar function.

In obstetrics, gestationel terminology covers timing and measurement of pregnancy. Gestational age is the most common metric, usually expressed in completed weeks since the last menstrual period, or estimated by ultrasound measurements such as crown-rump length in early pregnancy. Normal pregnancy length is about 37 to 42 weeks; subdivisions include early term, full term, late term, and post-term. Gestation length helps assess fetal maturity and readiness for birth; too early or too late can be associated with higher risks.

Conditions defined by gestational status include gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational hypertension, and other pregnancy-related syndromes. Fetal development assessments, such as ultrasound visualization of the gestational sac and subsequent growth monitoring, rely on gestational dating to interpret findings.

The term is used across disciplines, including obstetrics, neonatology, and perinatal epidemiology, to standardize references to pregnancy stage, fetal development, and management decisions. While gestationel is primarily the French form, it appears in bilingual texts and translations where gestational is the equivalent English term.