Complications on pregnancy

Complications on pregnancy

Pregnancy complications are numerous and can be very serious for women. There are several different complications that can affect the mother’s health, the baby’s health or both. Also pregnancy complications can occur because of health conditions of the mother before she becomes pregnant or during the pregnancy. The focus will be on complications during pregnancybut some overview will be given on pre existing conditions that may affect the pregnancy as well. Even healthy women may experience complications during pregnancy.

One condition that many women develop is anemia. Women develop anemia most likely because their bodies are low in iron. Pregnant women need double the iron in order to make red blood cells in the fetus. Women who develop anemiaduring pregnancy feel tired, weak, and even faint. Sometimes they even look pale and have shortness of breath. If this occurs the doctor will usually prescribed iron and folic acid supplements. They also will be checked periodically during the pregnancy to prevent this from happening again.
Another condition that should not be taken too lightly is depression. Depression can occur before andafter the birth. Post partum depression is referred to as the depression after the baby is born which some symptoms are extreme sadness, helplessness, irritability, changes in appetite, and even harming the newborn baby. It is known that depression during the pregnancy can affect the baby’s development and should be treated immediately. Some types of treatment include therapies, support groups,and medications.
A life threatening pregnancy complication known as etopic pregnancy can cause death to the potential mother. This condition occurs when a fertilized egg is planted outside of the uterus most of the time in the fallopian tube also called tubal pregnancy. As the fetus grows it will burst the organ that contains it causing internal damage. Some signs of an etopic pregnancy areabdominal pains, shoulder pains, vaginal bleeding, faintness and dizziness. An etopic pregnancy cannot develop into a live birth and is cured by medicines or surgery.
This next pregnancy complication affects about 1-3% of all pregnant women which is gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is when the blood sugar is too high and many times there are no signs or symptoms. Some common signsthat have been seen with this type of diabetes are extreme thirst, hunger, or fatigue. If gestational diabetes is left untreated than it can cause health problems for the mother and the risk of the fetus dying. If this condition is poorly treated it can cause a premature birth, preclampsia for the mother, a cesarean birth, or even low blood sugar, breathing problems, and jaundice for the baby atbirth. The most typical way of treating this complication is the mother’s diet but if more serious some pregnant women will need insulin. Also studies have shown that this condition is more likely found in obese women and women of certain ethnic groups including Native American, Pacific Islanders, Mexican, Indian, and Asian descent.
Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is a pregnancy complication thatmost pregnant women to some degree have experienced but not at this severity level. This condition causes the pregnant mother nausea that does not go away, vomiting several times a day, weight loss, reduced appetite, dehydration, and feeling faint. Severe HG is worse than just “morning sickness”. Many times when a woman has HG she must be hospitalized so they can be fed fluids and nutrientsintravenously. Most women feel better by the 20th week of pregnancy.
A pregnancy complication that most people have heard of is miscarriage. A miscarriage for pregnant women is when the pregnancy is lost due to natural causes before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Studies show that as many as 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriages. Many miscarriages occur even before a woman knows that she may have been...