List of Difficult Words 557
penis The male sex organ, also used to pass urine.
The penis gets hard during sex and releases a
fluid called semen that contains sperm.
pension fund A fund—often set up by a
union, employer, or the government—that pays
people when they get older and stop working.
PEP The short-term use of antiretroviral
medicines to prevent health workers accidently
exposed to HIV, or women who have been raped,
from getting HIV.
period See monthly bleeding.
permanent methods (of family planning) See
sterilization.
pesticides Poisonous chemicals used to kill
insects that destroy food crops.
PID See pelvic inflammatory disease.
piles (hemorrhoids) Swollen veins around the
anus, which can itch, burn, or bleed.
pimp A man who finds clients for a sex worker
and who often keeps all or part of her money.
pimple A spot or small infected swelling that
grows, often on the face, due to extra oil on the
skin. Common in adolescent girls and boys. Also
called acne.
placenta (afterbirth) A spongy organ in a woman’s
womb that passes the baby everything it needs to
grow during pregnancy. The baby is connected to
the placenta by the cord. After the baby is born,
the placenta also comes out of the womb.
plant medicines Flowers, leaves, roots and other
parts of plants that can be used to treat diseases.
PMTCT The use of antiretroviral medicines to
prevent the HIV infection passing from mother
to baby during pregnancy and birth. PMTCT
Programs can also help mothers with other
medicines, nutrition, and counselling.
pneumonia An infection of the small breathing
tubes deep in the lungs.
polyps Growths found usually in the womb.
Polyps are almost never caused by cancer.
pregnancy in the tube A pregnancy that grows in
one of the fallopian tubes, instead of in the womb.
prenatal The time between when a woman gets
pregnant and when she gives birth.
prenatal care Checkups during pregnancy, when
a midwife or specially trained health worker
examines a pregnant woman to make sure the
pregnancy is going well.
premature When a baby is born too early.
prevent Stopping something before it starts.
pressure sores (bed sores) Sores that form over
bony parts of the body when a person lies or sits
on that part of the body for too long without
moving.
privacy When a person gives information to a
health worker, nurse, or doctor and knows it will
not be overheard by, or repeated to, others.
progesterone A female hormone.
progestin A hormone made in a laboratory that
is similar to the progesterone made naturally in
a woman’s body. It is found in some hormonal
family planning methods.
progestin only pill A method of family planning
that contains one hormone—progestin—but no
estrogen.
prolapsed uterus When the muscles that hold
up the womb become weak, causing it to fall or
drop down into the vagina.
prostitute See sex worker.
proteins Body-building foods necessary for
proper growth and strength.
puberty The time when a girl changes into a
woman and her monthly bleeding begins, or when
a boy changes into a man.
pubic bone The front part of the pelvic bones,
just beneath the hair on a woman’s genitals.
pulse The heartbeat, which tells how fast and
how hard the heart is working. The pulse can be
felt at certain points on the body, like the inside
of the wrist or the neck.
purification Killing harmful germs in water before
drinking it.
pus White or yellow fluid that is filled with germs,
often found inside an infected tear or wound.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012