Pregnancy is a phase of your life where you experience enormous physical and emotional maturity. Your body transforms itself to withstand extensive pressure put up by the womb. You also become overly cautious and sensitive about meals, exercises & other activities. In addition to this, you also become impatient to meet the baby growing inside of you. However gleeful & uplifting pregnancies are known to be, they also come with various risks that need personalized care and treatment.
One such prevalent complication is high-risk pregnancies. It’s a pregnancy that encompasses enhanced health risks for the pregnant person, fetus, or both. High-risk pregnancies are caused by various factors, including age, medical complications before pregnancies, multiple pregnancies, or complications determined during prenatal screening tests.
We understand that keeping a tab on everything that’s just mentioned is no easy task. It’s even more difficult managing high-risk pregnancies requires an exhaustive and proactive method to ensure the proper health & well-being of you & your little one.
In this blog post, we will discuss the top five practices for managing high-risk pregnancies. But before getting to that, it’s essential to state the exact meaning, causes & common symptoms of high-risk pregnancy.
Meaning of High Risk Pregnancy
As the name suggests, high-risk pregnancies carry severe health risks for the pregnant mother, fetus, or both. Treatment of high-risk pregnancies requires extra care before, during, and after the child's birth. This helps to reduce the possibility of medical complications like HIV or other genetic diseases in the child.
However, not all high-risk pregnancies are life-threatening for you or your fetus. Despite special health needs, many mothers with high-risk pregnancies experience healthy pregnancies and normal labour and delivery. But that shouldn’t stop you from being extra cautious and pragmatic about the risks.
Now you must be wondering what factors could turn a normal pregnancy into a high-risk pregnancy. Here are some of the most common ones:
Have health complications before the pregnancy, such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, epilepsy, thyroid disease, heart or blood disorders, and poorly controlled asthma.
Pregnancy-related disorders such as Examples include an unusual placental position and unresponsive fetal growth during the gestational age.
Lifestyle factors such as smoking, drug addiction, and alcohol abuse.
Age over 35 or under 17 when pregnancy has an increase in complications.
High Risk Pregnancy Symptoms
Following are some of the most common signs & symptoms of high-risk pregnancies. So if you start to experience these symptoms at any point in time of your pregnancy, immediately see your doctor:
Abdominal pain that won’t go away.
Chest pain.
Dizziness or fainting.
Extreme Tiredness.
The slowing down of the fetus's movement.
Fever over 38°C.
Heart palpitations.
Excessive Nausea and vomiting
Severe headache
Swelling, redness, or pain in your face or limbs.
Having thoughts about hurting yourself or the fetus.
Troubled breathing.
Vaginal bleeding or discharge.
Top 5 Time-Tested Practices for the Management of High Risk Pregnancies
Sticking to basics and following these 5 time-tested practices for the management of high-risk pregnancies will definitely help:
1) Schedule a Preconception Appointment
First & foremost, the proper management of a high-risk pregnancy begins with booking an appointment with your doctor before you plan for pregnancy. Visiting your healthcare provider is a good idea as the doctor will do a thorough body checkup to ensure your B.P, sugar, thyroid profile, anaemia, or any hereditary diseases which can be transmitted to the baby & harm the baby like thalassemia which is treatable before you get pregnant.
Clear and effective communication with your doctor ensures you know the risks, treatment options, and expectations. It leads to a helpful & collaborative environment where the minutest queries & concerns are appropriately addressed. Preconceptional counselling is necessary within the period of only having 1 or babies.
2) Early and Regular Prenatal Care:
It's all about quickly identifying the problem to root it out of your pregnancy completely. In this regard, early and regular prenatal care is necessary for the proper management of high-risk pregnancies. It becomes even more critical to seek medical advice as soon as you know about your pregnancy if you are already dealing with medical complications.
Early prenatal care assists healthcare providers in pointing out and examining potential risks through regular check-ups, including body examinations, ultrasounds, urine tests, and blood tests. This can help detect the problem and start working on the solution quickly. During these prenatal visits, healthcare providers offer insightful guidance, support, and education to help you make informed decisions about the treatment & care.
3) Individualized Care Plans:
As we all know & understand that each body works or perhaps reacts differently to different treatment options. That’s why the management of high-risk pregnancies requires individualized care packages equipped to deal with each woman's unique requirements. An exhaustive & overall evaluation of the woman's medical history, present health status, and risk factors is done to form an effective care plan.
Experts such as obstetricians, perinatologists, genetic counsellors, nutritionists, fetal medicine specialists, and others contribute to your holistic care plan as & when needed. Considering the unique circumstances of your high-risk pregnancy helps doctors with appropriate monitoring, intervention, and assistance throughout the gestation period.
4) Constant Monitoring and Surveillance:
Continuous monitoring and surveillance are supercritical for the management of high-risk pregnancies. So when you select the treatment option for your high-risk pregnancy, make sure it has regular fetal assessments, such as ultrasounds, non-stress tests, and biophysical profiles. These evaluations help doctors to monitor the baby's growth, shape, size, and well-being.
On a personal level, you should monitor your health based on parameters including blood pressure, glucose level, and weight gain. Home monitoring devices will be able to help you there. Your extra cautious approach will let you be on the lookout for the symptoms & slight abnormalities and ultimately allow early intervention to protect you & your little one.
5) Emotional and Psychosocial Support:
We know very well that the management of a high-risk pregnancy can be frustrating & emotionally tiresome for not just you but also your friends & family members. So, to protect yourself from depressing & self-harming thoughts, emotional and psychosocial support are integral to comprehensive care. You need to ensure that your healthcare plan provides counselling services, access to support groups, and mental health resources. Emotional support eases your anxiety, stress, and fear and leads to a healthier pregnancy experience. Sharing each others’ griefs and taking inspiration from each other’s stories help you feel empowered and motivated towards life & the pregnancy.
Management of High-Risk Pregnancies at Jain Multi Speciality Hospital
Effective & promising management of high-risk pregnancies requires specialized practices to ensure the well-being of both the mother and the baby. By implementing these practices, you can reduce risks, optimize outcomes, and avail the necessary support throughout these times. Since every high-risk pregnancy is unique, the care & services given should include solutions for your specific problems, concerns, and circumstances.
Get the most effective & personalized care from our high-risk obstetrics team, neonatologists, fetal medicine specialists, anaesthetic experts & surgeons. They are motivated to offer a well-coordinated and comprehensive continuum of care for the management of high-risk pregnancies, childbirth, and beyond to ensure roundabout protection for you & your loved one.
Comments