Pregnancy and Complications / Complications of Pregnancy

Pregnancy can be an exciting period in a women’s life even though many face some extent of discomfort and disability during this time. It is quite natural to experience a range of side effects but most are tolerable. Nonetheless, these can become serious and it is important to recognize the warning signs of an impending complication.

Complications in early pregnancy are due to the fetus being defective in form, abnormal in its site and unable to sustain until term, leading to miscarriages.

As pregnancy advances, the enlarging uterus along with the hormonal changes give rise to a new set of problems for the mother at every stage.

Medical complications of pregnancy like Gestational diabetes and pregnancy induced hypertension are exclusive to pregnancy alone and these have to be carefully controlled and monitored.

Gestational diabetes is diabetes that develops in the mother during pregnancy even though she would have previously not been a diabetic. Such a situation needs prompt diagnoses and treatment to avoid complications for the baby.

Likewise, pregnancy induced hypertension, true to its name, is high blood pressure that develops in a pregnant woman who did not have high blood pressure. Once a woman develops pregnancy induced hypertension, she has to have regular monitoring of her blood pressure, the baby’s well being and proper medication for the pressure. If these steps are not meticulously followed, serious harm to the mother and baby, including sudden demise of the baby can take place.

Pre-existing medical problems in the mother like asthma or epilepsy also could complicate matters. Some mothers experience a worsening of the asthma, while others do not. It is important to continue treatment of asthma as poorly controlled asthma can increase risk of preterm delivery.

Epilepsy during pregnancy can be managed with medicines. It is very important to plan the pregnancy and accordingly adjust some of the epilepsy medicines. Taking folic acid supplements is very important for an epileptic woman during pregnancy. It is important to ascertain one’s blood group during pregnancy as well as test for infections like Hepatitis B and HIV.