High blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, epilepsy, thyroid disease, heart or blood disorders, poorly controlled asthma, and infections can increase pregnancy risks.
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.
If you're 17 years old or younger or 35 years old or older, your pregnancy could generally be considered "high-risk." Women tend to have a window of time when it's easier on their body to grow a baby and give birth.
High-risk complications occur in only 6 percent to 8 percent of all pregnancies. These complications can be serious and require special care to ensure the best possible outcome.
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.
Pregnancy risks are higher if you're having twins, triplets, or other multiples, because carrying more than one baby places additional stress on your body. Your babies are also more likely to develop complications or arrive early.
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.
Category A: No risk in human studies (studies in pregnant women have not demonstrated a risk to the fetus during the first trimester).
If your obstetrician considers your pregnancy to be 'complex' or 'high risk', it means something poses a threat to you or your baby during pregnancy, birth or after delivery. If this is the case, you or your baby will need to be specially monitored and require special care to avoid complications.
Category A: Controlled studies in women have failed to demonstrate a risk to the fetus in the first trimester and there is no evidence of risk in later trimesters. The possibility of fetal harm appears remote. Medications in this class are considered safe to use in pregnancy.
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.
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.
Foods with folic acid include : okra, pinto beans, navy beans, mustard green s, kale, spinach, chicken liver, beef liver, orange juice, asparagus, broccoli, avocado, green peas, cauliflower, tomato juice, peanuts, and cantaloupe.
Several factors can make a pregnancy high risk, including existing health conditions, the mother's age, lifestyle, and health issues that happen before or during pregnancy.
Some women will discover that their health care provider places them on bed rest for a brief period to help a complication stabilize, while other women may be placed on bed rest throughout most of their pregnancy if they have what is called, a high-risk pregnancy.
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.
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.
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).
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.
A low risk pregnancy is defined as: Being pregnant with only one baby, not twins or triplets. The baby is growing normally and is in an anterior, or head down position. You have been healthy throughout the pregnancy and have shown no signs of medical or obstetric conditions.