High blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, epilepsy, thyroid disease, heart or blood disorders, poorly controlled asthma, and infections can increase pregnancy risks. Pregnancy complications. Various complications that develop during pregnancy can pose risks.
A high-risk pregnancy is one in which a woman and her fetus face a higher-than-normal chance of experiencing problems. These risks may be due to factors in the pregnancy itself, or they may stem from preexisting maternal medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, or lupus.
Factors Considered for High Risk Pregnancy
Height – under five feet. Difficult pregnancies in the past. Chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure. Family history of genetic conditions. Rh incompatibility.
Drinking alcohol, smoking or using tobacco products, and taking drugs while pregnant can significantly impact your baby's health. If you drink alcohol while you're pregnant, you increase the risk of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, which causes serious birth defects.
Women who have a chronic condition, such as uncontrolled diabetes, have a higher risk of miscarriage. Uterine or cervical problems. Certain uterine conditions or weak cervical tissues (incompetent cervix) might increase the risk of miscarriage. Smoking, alcohol and illicit drugs.
You will have at least two ultrasounds during your early and middle pregnancy, and in the later parts of your high-risk pregnancy, you may have ultrasounds as often as once a week based on your health needs and situation.
Like adults, children with obesity, diabetes, asthma or chronic lung disease, sickle cell disease, or who are immunocompromised can also be at increased risk for getting very sick from COVID-19.
Frequent cause of miscarriages at 6-8 weeks: chromosomal abnormality. Miscarriages are a frequent and often unpreventable complication of pregnancy. On average, ca. 15% of all pregnancies are miscarried, but the rate is lower in younger women than in older women.
Your nausea and vomiting may be worse than ever: Morning sickness peaks around 9 or 10 weeks of pregnancy for many women. That's when levels of the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) are highest (morning sickness is thought to be linked to rises in hCG and estrogen).
If you have a high-risk pregnancy, you or your baby might be at increased risk of health problems before, during or after delivery. Typically, special monitoring or care throughout pregnancy is needed. Understand the risk factors for a high-risk pregnancy, and what you can do to take care of yourself and your baby.
A high-risk pregnancy does not necessarily mean that your pregnancy will be more difficult or challenging than a low-risk pregnancy. However, it does sometimes mean that you will need to consult a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and undergo more monitoring than someone with a low-risk pregnancy.
The fetus is most vulnerable during the first 12 weeks. During this period of time, all of the major organs and body systems are forming and can be damaged if the fetus is exposed to drugs, infectious agents, radiation, certain medications, tobacco and toxic substances.
However, having a pregnancy that's considered high risk doesn't mean you or your fetus will have problems. Many people experience healthy pregnancies and normal labor and delivery despite having special health needs.
Lifestyle habits to stop or avoid during pregnancy include smoking, drinking alcohol, gaining too much weight, consuming too much caffeine, eating certain foods like raw or undercooked meat and eggs, raw sprouts, some seafood, and others.
The best exercises to engage in are activities you actually enjoy doing. Pregnant women can generally do brisk walking, swimming, stationary cycling, low-impact aerobics, yoga or Pilates, and running.
During pregnancy you need folic acid, iron, calcium, vitamin D, choline, omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, and vitamin C. See the below table for recommended amounts. Fortified cereal, enriched bread and pasta, peanuts, dark green leafy vegetables, orange juice, beans.
Most miscarriages - 8 out of 10 (80 percent) - happen in the first trimester before the 12th week of pregnancy. Miscarriage in the second trimester (between 13 and 19 weeks) happens in 1 to 5 in 100 (1 to 5 percent) pregnancies. Pregnancy loss that happens after 20 weeks is called stillbirth.
Don t be surprised if you develop a bit of a 6 weeks pregnant belly. Although your 6 week embryo is still well down in your pelvis, some women, especially those who've been pregnant before, seem to show much earlier. General abdominal distention is usually the cause.