According to some studies, almost 4 million women give birth every year in America. All of them obviously do not run through a smooth pregnancy period. Close to 30% of women reported some kind of complications during their maternity. Ignorance and the lack of adequate care and medical assistance for women in these cases would result in very severe and fatal consequences for both, the mother and her baby.
Oftentimes, due to unawareness and abnormally high positive expectations, these cases are left unidentified. Some of them are detected but only at a very late stage when the complications will already be irreversible and even life threatening. This kind of attitude does not help either the physician or the patient.
Hence it is extremely necessary to give due medical care to any pregnant woman throughout her maternity. In fact, the medical care should begin as early as possible, much before pregnancy. This could not be practical in some cases. But if you are planning to be pregnant, you should consult your health care provider for a complete check up.
In case you have any other physical botheration, this is the right time for you to share it with your health care provider. A provider can also use this pre-maternity time to run through several routine tests. These tests can ensure the current physical ability of your body to go ahead with pregnancy.
Given below are some medical conditions that can develop during pregnancy. Being aware of these cases can help you seek medical care and attention on time from your doctor.
1. Gestational diabetes
Many of the pregnant women suffer from gestational diabetes. This is a situation of having a high blood sugar level as a result of the inability of your body to produce sufficient amounts of insulin. This condition would prevent your body from properly using the foods you consume. As you might already know, insulin is a hormone that the pancreas creates allowing your body cells to convert sugar into functional energy.
Certain factors which can lead to this situation (gestational diabetes) includes: if you are an older woman, if you already suffered from diabetes, if you are obese, if you are suffering from high blood pressure, if you were a large baby at birth, and if your antecedents suffers from diabetes. Inordinate thirst and hunger, very frequent urination, repeated vaginal infections, high blood pressures and the presence of sugar in the urine are some of the symptoms for you to be wary about for it may be indicative of gestational diabetes.
Without proper care and guidance of your OB doctor, you may end up having a baby with complications and you yourself having a difficult time during labor.
2. Periods during pregnancy
You might already know some cases wherein women have their periods during pregnancy. Many women have experienced this kind of bleeding while they are pregnant. This is becoming more common now and almost 30% of them experience this in their first trimester.
This case is reported to be rare during the second and third trimesters. Whereas this can obviously be a troublesome or uncomfortable situation for the pregnant woman, this has never been thought to be a health threat to both the would-be mom and the baby. Nevertheless, it is still advisable to have a follow up with the doctor so that all other possibilities of pregnancy related abnormalities will be ruled out.
3. Diseases with the thyroid gland
When you are pregnant, it is very important that you need to take care of your health to ensure that you give birth to a healthy and smart baby. Try to follow all those instructions coming from your doctor about your special pregnancy diets and exercises. Particular attention might be needed for your thyroid gland and its range of critical diseases. These diseases appear during pregnancy in cases of some women and can affect your health as well as that of your baby.
Thyroid disease usually occurs when the gland is unable to give due hormone to the body in a sufficient manner. This can affect your metabolism and growth functions of your body. Fatigue, obesity, frequent muscle pains and repeated cold infections are some of the symptoms of this disease. Thus, if you are one of the pregnant mothers out there then you must subject yourself to thyroid tests for you to have a safer pregnancy experience. If thyroid disease is diagnosed in the body, it is extremely important to have prompt treatment otherwise it can result in complications such as preterm delivery, hypertension or even miscarriage.
4. Incompetent cervix
It is very common and natural that a woman loses her baby at the first trimester of pregnancy. But when it happens at a later stage, it is certain that there are some medical problems that could have caused the loss. One of the most common causes is incompetent cervix. As you know, the cervix is the path between the uterus and the birth canal. The cervix is normally in a closed condition during pregnancy. But when it is time to deliver, it gradually opens up to make a path for the baby to pass through and come out of the vaginal opening.
But in some cases, the cervix begins to open up prematurely due to varying pressures of the growing fetus. This is normally seen to occur at the 13th week or sometimes at the later stages of pregnancy. As stated earlier, this state is known as incompetent cervix. The cause of this condition can be attributed to the following: previous difficult births, repeated late term miscarriages, previous cervical surgeries, and also the malformation of the cervix as a result of previous birth defects.
Diagnosing this condition by trying to assess the condition of the cervix at an early stage can help doctor to prevent unwanted losses during pregnancy.
5. Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH)
Pregnancy is always accompanied by lots of tedious responsibilities. If you were keen enough, then you might have noticed while visiting your doctor that they constantly check your blood pressure. Well, the blood pressure must be constantly and consistently monitored to avoid from getting into the pregnancy induced hypertension stage. Hence, just in case your doctor missed this important check, please make sure that your blood pressure is assessed in all your visits.
PIH is a condition that will elevate the blood pressure of a pregnant lady and can be seriously harmful for both baby and the mother. There were already many reported infant and maternal deaths reported due to having pregnancy induced hypertension.
Truly, this has been one of the main culprits that increase infant and maternal mortality at the birthing stages. Although, the exact cause for this situation are not yet confirmed 100% certain, at least it is better to know that there are some risk factors that may make the would-be mother at a greater risk for PIH.
The list includes: a previous delivery of a baby either at an early stage or at a very late stage, having a history of diabetes, having an episode of hypertension before pregnancy and having multiple births like twins or triplets.
All of these reasons are not meant to scare you in any manner whatsoever. But these situations should make you realize about the big responsibility you hold as a pregnant woman. Moreover, these situations should help you feel the importance of seeking adequate healthcare services while you are still able to do so.
The above list of possible complications does not end here. There are still some more. Nevertheless, it is best not to allow these complications from ever happening by seeking professional help from your doctor. This is perhaps the best caring measure that you can give for your baby. Your doctor is the only person who can diagnose, educate you about essential preventive measures and recommend possible cures for you and your baby against all these pregnancy-related situations.