High –Risk Pregnancy-Here’s How You Can Manage It

If your pregnancy falls in a high-risk category, you might be worried about your unborn baby’s health and may feel anxious and stressed out dealing with thousands of emotions together, but don’t worry, through this article, we will guide you about what is a high-risk pregnancy, things you can do and take care to minimize this risk and go ahead with the best possible experience and outcome.

Table of Content

Feel free to skip ahead if one topic catches your eye:

1. What is a high-risk pregnancy?
2. What are the causes of a high-risk pregnancy?
3. How to manage a high-risk pregnancy?
4. Test and screening of high-risk pregnancy?
5. When to seek immediate medical care for a high-risk pregnancy?

Take Away

1. What is a high-risk pregnancy?

A high-risk pregnancy is a pregnancy that poses higher risk to either mother or baby s health as compared to a non high risk pregnancy. You will need some special medical care and regular monitoring of you and your unborn baby by more prenatal checkups, to have a healthy and successful pregnancy, labor, and delivery.

2. What are the Causes of High-risk pregnancy?

There are a variety of causes of high-risk pregnancy, some of them include:

• Maternal age: Extremes of ages Age greater than 35 and less than 17 can make it a high-risk one.
• Medical conditions existing before pregnancy like:
  • High blood pressure.
  • Diabetes
  • Thyroid disease.
  • Chronic liver disease.
  • Heart disease
  • Depression.
  • Blood disorders and infections.
  • HIV or AIDS
  • Being overweight or underweight
  • PCOS (Polycystic ovarian syndrome).
  • Previous operative delivery.
• Medical Conditions that can develop during pregnancy like:
  In Mother:
  • Preeclampsia (Condition during pregnancy marked by high blood pressure and presence of protein in urine)
  • Gestational Diabetes (Diabetes that is detected first time during pregnancy).
  • Cholestasis of pregnancy (a liver disease with itching)
• In Baby:
  • Growth problems.
  • Infections.
  • Genetic diseases e.g. down Syndrome.
  • Carrying more than one baby, twin, or multiple pregnancies
  • Abnormal position of the baby.
• Use of Tobacco, alcohol, and drugs: Smoking, drugs, and alcohol consumption increases risk during pregnancy.

3. How to Manage a high-risk pregnancy?

If you are aware of early and regular prenatal care, then even if you fall under high-risk pregnancy, you can have a healthy and safe outcome. Let us see how can it be done:

• Maintain or achieve a healthy weight before and during pregnancy: Consult your doctor for pre pregnancy counseling and understand what should be an ideal weight for your height so that you can carry a healthy baby with minimum complications. This means the weight gain before and during pregnancy must be as expected and advised by your doctor. Excess or low weight gain both are harmful. Eat a Balanced diet as advised by your nutritionist. Eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains and stay away from junk and synthetic food like chips, aerated drinks, canned food, etc. Regular exercise as directed by your doctor is important.
• Manage preexisting health conditions: Always tell your doctor if you have any diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes( or its family history) previous miscarriages, mental health problems, previous vaccinations taken particularly rubella, any difficulties in previous pregnancies if you are taking any medications or history of any abnormal baby in the family. The doctor will advise you accordingly.
• Take Prenatal Supplements: As the nutritional needs considerably increase during pregnancy, therefore some of the supplements need to be taken during pregnancy, breastfeeding and even before pregnancy as per doctor’s instructions like:
• Folic acid- to be started before pregnancy when you are planning to get pregnant
• Multivitamins
• Iron and Folate- Needed for proper blood formation, oxygen supply, and proper growth and development of the growing baby.
• Vitamin D and Calcium: This is important for bone development and immunity.
• Magnesium: It plays an important role in immunity, muscles, and nerve development and its deficiency can cause high blood pressure and premature childbirth.
• Probiotics: Help in reducing digestive and gastric problems.
• Choline: Needed for baby’s brain development.
• Herbal supplements: like ginger (Which prevents nausea) and fish oil (for brain development of the baby) can also be used but consult your doctor before using these.
• Have exhaustive medical control: Be regular with your doctor visits, tests, and medications and rigorously follow their instructions. A preconception doctor’s visit to understand pregnancy and to get yourself screened is always helpful.
• Avoid Alcohol, Tobacco, and drugs: Use of these during pregnancy can result in miscarriage, slow development of the baby, breastfeeding problems, learning difficulties and emotional instability, low birth weight, and other complications.
• Have a support system: Have family and friends around you and always tell them your needs.
• Maintain proper hygiene and prevent infections: wash your hands regularly and avoid unpasteurized dairy products and raw meat. Get your vaccinations on time as advised by your doctor.

4. Tests and screening of high-risk pregnancy.

Certain tests will be suggested by your doctor to monitor your and your baby’s health. Some of these are screening tests done for all pregnancies and some are done to find out a specific health problem:

• Ultrasound: Besides routine ultrasound more number of ultrasounds with specific and regular imaging may be required in high risk pregnancies. Your doctor may ask you for repeated ultrasounds if required for the baby s growth or multiple other conditions.
• Targeted Ultrasound: Done around 18-20 weeks to see every part of the baby’s body and check for any abnormal development should never be missed.
• Biophysical Profile: This is done to see body movements, respiratory movements, heart rate, heart reactivity, and overall well-being of the baby. It is usually advised when you have decreased baby movements during the last trimester of pregnancy.
• Prenatal cell-free DNA screening: It is a blood test wherein the mother’s blood is taken and the baby’s DNA is extracted and studied for the risk of any chromosomal problems.
• Blood tests- certain blood tests may be repeated again and again in high risk pregnancies for proper monitoring, like - Hb, sugar , thyroid,liver, and kidney tests
• Laboratory tests: Blood tests are done to check for anemia, changes in platelet levels, sugar, thyroid, rubella, syphilis, hepatitis B, and HIV, and urine tests for checking the risk of urinary tract infection
• Checking Cervix Length: This is done through ultrasound for measuring the length of your cervix (lower part of the uterus) to determine the risk of preterm birth.
• Amniocentesis: Done by taking out fluid from around the baby through a fine needle and chromosomal analysis is done to check for genetic abnormalities and brain disorders. This carries some risks and so must always be considered as per your doctor's advice.

5. When to seek immediate medical care for a high-risk pregnancy?

You must seek medical help immediately if you experience:

• Severe headaches.
• Bleeding or any discharge from the vagina.
• Cramps or pain in the lower abdomen.
• Fewer movements of the baby.
• Burning or pain while urinating.
• Vision changes like blurred vision.
• Vomiting or continuous nausea.
• Fever or chills.
• Dizziness.
• Sudden swelling of hands, fingers, and face.
• Thoughts of harming yourself or the baby.

It is very important to be very regular with your doctor visits and follow their advice. Always stay positive and take steps to promote a happy and healthy pregnancy and delivery.

Take Away

A high-risk pregnancy can be managed appropriately with the help of a good team of a well-qualified and experienced doctor, nutritionists, and other staff. Dr.Puja’s clinic has the best doctor with vast experience in managing high risk pregnancy with the best outcome.