High risk pregnancy conditions

For the vast majority of women everywhere most pregnancies are uneventful. Unfortunately a small minority of pregnant women may have or develop certain conditions that can increase the odds of a problem. Once a problem has developed the pregnancy will be classified as a high risk pregnancy.

Some conditions may already exist before a woman gets pregnant. One of the most common factors that can lead to a high risk pregnancy is age. Studies have shown that a woman under or over a certain age faces an increases risk of complications during pregnancy and labor and delivery. Many doctors will place a pregnant woman in the high risk category simply for being above a certain age. That age is generally thirty-five. Women thirty-five and older fall into this category for several reasons. First of all women in this age group are more prone to have pre-existing medical problems that can make child bearing more difficult. As we age illnesses become more common. Such conditions include diabetes, hypertension, obesity, kidney problems, and auto-immune diseases such as lupus. Simply being a woman can increase your odds of contracting certain diseases. Women are generally much more prone to auto-immune diseases for reasons we don’t fully understand.

Another reason women in this age group are at increased risk is because their eggs are older. Older eggs have been in a woman’s ovaries longer and thus exposed to more stress and more environmental toxins. This means the older eggs are more prone to birth defects. The risks of genetic birth defects such as Down Syndrome start to increase dramatically as a woman approaches forty. Women with older eggs can also have problems maintaining a pregnancy. Age makes it more likely that a woman has contracted a sexually transmitted disease or has had changes to her anatomy like cervical dysplasia that compromise the function of the cervix.

Women younger than eighteen are also often considered high risk. A younger woman’s pelvic bones may not have fully matured. A pelvis that has structural problems can make labor and delivery more difficult. Women in this age group are also generally more prone to indulge in risky behaviors like over consumption of alcohol and failure to eat properly.

In addition to age there are other factors that can make pregnancies high risk. Women who have pre-existing medical conditions will be watched more closely by their obstetricians. Certain medical conditions like multiple sclerosis or asthma can be greatly aggravated by the stresses places on the body during pregnancy. Pregnancy can cause multiple sclerosis to get worse. Other medical conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure caused by heart disease can also affect the fetus. The fetuses of diabetic women are at risk for many complications including dangerously increased birth weight. High blood pressure can lead to a serious and potentially fatal medical complication called pre-eclampsia. During pre-eclampsia a woman can experience all sorts of terrible side effects including vastly elevated blood pressure and the accumulation of fluid in the extremities. If the condition progresses further, the only way to save the mother is to deliver the fetus even if the baby is at a very young gestation age.

Other medical issues that can make a pregnancy high risk are reproductive conditions. Any woman who’s ever had an ectopic pregnancy will be face frequent ultra-sounds during the early stages of her pregnancy to ascertain that the fetus has implanted properly and is growing in the right place. There are many other gynecological conditions that may lead to more close monitoring including a history of frequent miscarriages, anatomical uterine abnormalities, placenta previa, or pre-natal expose to DES.

Any woman with a pregnancy that’s been labeled high risk should take the label very seriously. Follow your doctor’s advice very closely. However all women should be reassured that even most high pregnancies end with the desired result: a healthy mother and baby.