High Risk Pregnancy care

A high-risk pregnancy is a pregnancy that involves increased health risks for the pregnant person, fetus or both. Certain health conditions and your age (being over 35 or under 17 when pregnant) can make a pregnancy high risk. These pregnancies require close monitoring to reduce the chance of complications.

All pregnancies carry risks. The definition of a “high-risk” pregnancy is any pregnancy that carries increased health risks for the pregnant person, fetus or both. People with high-risk pregnancies may need extra care before, during and after they give birth. This helps to reduce the possibility of complications. However, having a pregnancy that’s considered high risk doesn’t mean you or your fetus will have problems. Many people experience healthy pregnancies and normal labor and delivery despite having special health needs.

What causes high-risk pregnancy?

• Pre-existing health conditions

• Pregnancy-related health conditions

• Lifestyle factors (including smoking, drug addiction, alcohol abuse and exposure to certain toxins)

• Age (being over 35 or under 17 when pregnant)

Signs and Symptoms of high-risk pregnancy?

Talk to your doctor right away if you experience any of the following symptoms during pregnancy, whether or not your pregnancy is considered high-risk:

• Abdominal pain that doesn’t go away

• Chest pain

• Dizziness or fainting

• Extreme fatigue

• The fetus's movement stopping or slowing

• Fever over 100.4°F

• Heart palpitations

• Nausea and vomiting that’s worse than normal morning sickness

• Severe headache that won’t go away or gets worse

• Swelling, redness or pain in your face or limbs

• Thoughts about harming yourself or the fetus

• Trouble breathing

Potential complications of high-risk pregnancy?

A high-risk pregnancy can be life-threatening for the pregnant person or fetus. Serious complications can include:

• Preeclampsia (high blood pressure from pregnancy)

• Eclampsia (seizure from pregnancy)

• Preterm delivery

• Cesarean delivery (C-section)

• Excessive bleeding during labor and delivery, or after birth

• Low or high birth weight

• Birth defects

• Problems with the fetus's brain development

• Miscarriage

• Stillbirth

How is high-risk pregnancy diagnosed and monitored?

Getting early and thorough prenatal care is critical. It’s the best way to detect and diagnose a high-risk pregnancy. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider about your health history and any past pregnancies. If you do have a high-risk pregnancy, you may need special monitoring throughout your pregnancy. Tests to monitor your health and the health of the fetus may include:

• Blood and urine testing: to check for genetic conditions or certain congenital conditions (birth defects).

• Ultrasonography: which uses sound waves to create images of the fetus to screen for congenital conditions.

• Biophysical profile: which monitors their breathing, movements and amniotic fluid using ultrasound, and a non-stress test, which monitors their heart rate.