- Dr Hrishikesh Pai
A high-risk pregnancy requires extra care and monitoring for a healthy and successful pregnancy and delivery. Fortunately, many women with high-risk pregnancies can still have healthy babies and safe outcomes with early and regular prenatal care.
Some women who start with a normal pregnancy may develop issues that place them in the high-risk category, which affects roughly six to eight percent of all pregnancies.
Sometimes, women are not sure whether they fall in the high-risk category?
If you are one of them, please continue reading to know who is at risk of having a high-risk pregnancy.
• Woman pregnant with twins or multiple babies.
• Pregnant women who are more than 35 years of age.
• Women having pre-existing medical conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease, autoimmune disease, or STDs.
• Women suffering from issues that occur during pregnancy, such as gestation diabetes, or high blood pressure.
• Women who had complications during previous pregnancies.
• Women who are going through depression.
• Women who are obese.
• Women having blood disorders such as sickle cell disease.
• Women having pregnancy-related issues like placenta previa, shortened cervix, or certain infections.
How do doctors manage high-risk pregnancies?
In case you are diagnosed with a high-risk pregnancy, you will have to visit your gynecologist regularly, who may ask you to undergo some of these tests often to monitor your and your fetus’s health.
The tests include:
• Urine tests
• Blood test
• Fetal heart rate checks
• Ultrasounds of the cervix, uterus, and fetus
• Kick count
• Glucose tolerance test
What do you need to do during a high-risk pregnancy?
Given below are a few suggestions that will help ensure your and your baby’s health:
• Make sure you keep all of your doctor’s appointments, even if you have a lot of them.
• Eat a balanced diet.
• Exercise according to your doctor’s recommendations.
• Strictly stay away from smoking, alcohol, and recreational drugs.
High-risk pregnancies can be stressful, so inform your doctor if anxiety is impacting your ability to eat, sleep, or cope in any way.
Other symptoms that indicate you should see a doctor include vaginal discharge, bleeding, contractions or cramps, or a change in the way your baby moves.
Close monitoring is essential during a high-risk pregnancy, so don’t be surprised if your schedule is full of appointments. They are a crucial part of ensuring a healthy pregnancy.
Coping with a high-risk pregnancy
It might be upsetting to learn that your pregnancy is high-risk. Anxiety, sadness, and even anger are common emotions, but continual worry is harmful to your health.
In such situations, it is vital to relax and remain stress-free. The problem of high-risk pregnancy is not solved by stress. In fact, stress aggravates the problem and makes the pregnancy more difficult.
Your partner, family, and friends can provide invaluable assistance. If you need to talk to someone about your anxieties, you can speak to your doctor, who can help you work through your feelings. You will be able to focus on being well and enjoying your pregnancy once you feel more in control.
Remember that just because your pregnancy is classified as high risk does not mean that something bad will occur. It simply means that you and your baby will require additional attention and monitoring.
