Pregnancy is a natural process that involves a woman carrying a baby to full-term and giving birth to a healthy baby after going into labor on a due date, which is usually after nine months. However, not all women have the privilege of experiencing a seamless pregnancy. Some women undergo complications that your best Edinburg, TX obstetrics specialist call high-risk pregnancy. For this reason, these women require medical intervention to manage their high-risk pregnancies to prevent any complications that would jeopardize their health or that of their unborn baby.
What are the risk factors of a high-risk pregnancy?
Not all women are at risk of developing complications during their pregnancy. However, certain risk factors might make physicians classify a woman’s pregnancy as high-risk. For example:
- Maternal age: Physicians insist that the best age to get pregnant is between the late teens and early 30s. Women below and above this age range are at risk of developing complications during their pregnancy. Moreover, the older a woman gets, especially past age 40, there is a higher risk of miscarriage and genetic defects.
- Preexisting medical conditions: There are various conditions that a woman develops before getting pregnant that may pose a risk to her health and that of her unborn baby, for example, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, STDs, and lung, kidney, or heart problems. It is essential to collaborate with your physician to ensure that you manage any preexisting conditions to prevent pregnancy complications.
- Pregnancy-related medical conditions: Although a woman might conceive when she is healthy, without any underlying medical issue, the disease can develop during pregnancy, like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and depression that might affect a woman and her unborn baby. For this reason, physicians recommend pregnant women to attend regular prenatal visits for early disease detection and thus a suitable management approach to minimize complications.
- Pregnancy-related issues: Some issues might develop without necessarily resulting from a woman’s health status. Pregnancy-related issues include premature labor, placenta previa, and fetal development problems. Or this reason, women need maximum monitoring to manage any complications and thus preserve the pregnancy.
How to prevent and treat pregnancy complications
The best way to prevent a high-risk pregnancy is to schedule a preconception appointment. Your doctor will review your medical and family history to determine any risk factors that might cause complications. However, being healthy does not mean being free from difficulties that might hinder successful pregnancy and birth. There are certain things your doctor will recommend to ensure overall maternal and fetal health during pregnancy. For example, consuming a healthy, nutritionally-balanced diet and maintaining an active lifestyle will prevent medical conditions like gestational diabetes that might jeopardize the pregnancy. Patients should also avoid taking drugs, like alcohol and cigarettes, because these increase the chances of complications.
Pregnant women need to see their doctor regularly to monitor fetal development and ensure maternal and fetal health. Contact Women’s Clinic of the Rio Grande Valley to schedule a consultation to determine if your pregnancy is high-risk and thus develop a management plan to preserve your health and that of your unborn baby.
