A pregnancy is considered high-risk if there is a condition present that increases the chances that the woman or the baby may have a health problem. If you understand the reasons for a high-risk pregnancy and what to expect, you can better take care of yourself and your baby.
There are a number of conditions or factors that may put you at high risk during a pregnancy. Some of them are pre-existing issues while others may first appear during pregnancy.
High risk pregnancy issues include:
Once it has been established that you are at high risk, you will typically need to be followed by a team of specialists to manage your condition. Some of the specialists on your care team might include:
Each high-risk pregnancy may not require each part of this care team; it depends on the specific situation.
During a typical pregnancy, the expectant mom goes to the OB/GYN around once a month until the third trimester when the visits increase to every two weeks. At 36 weeks, the patient is usually seen every week until the baby is born. However, in a high risk pregnancy, your number of visits will increase.
You may still keep your regular appointments with your obstetrician, but you will likely have to visit the perinatologist several times and get several imaging and lab tests during your pregnancy. Depending on your health situation, you may still have to follow up with your medical specialists like your kidney doctor if you have kidney disease or your cardiologist if you have a heart problem.
Your doctors will want to keep a close eye on you and your baby to make sure things are developing as normally as possible.
Most women who are high risk will have more tests than a low-risk pregnancy. Some of the tests that you may need include:
You may not need all of these tests or you may need different ones. You and your health care team will decide which tests you need.
Just because you are high-risk does not mean that you won't have a healthy pregnancy. You should attend your doctors' appointments and follow your doctor's orders, of course. Other things you can do to promote a healthy pregnancy include:
In many cases, high risk pregnancies may limit your birth options. Depending on your condition, you will probably be discouraged from a home birth because of the potential danger to you and the baby.
Conditions that may limit the possibility of a home birth:
Discuss this with your physicians to get information and figure out your options.
Also, you may find that you need a C-section as well, depending on your health status. Some placental or uterine problems may preclude vaginal births. Again, you will have the opportunity to discuss this with your health care team; in most cases, the plans for your baby's birth will be established earlier in your pregnancy.
If you are high risk with one pregnancy, will you be high risk with another one? It depends on the reason for the high-risk designation in the first place. If you have a medical condition like heart disease or diabetes, you will always be high risk.
Some problems may follow you throughout each pregnancy. If you had certain pregnancy-caused issues like placenta previa, you may not be high risk during your next pregnancy if you don't have the same issue. Your doctor will check you closely during subsequent pregnancies to make the determination of high risk.
You should work with your care team before you get pregnant again to optimize your future pregnancies.
If you receive a high risk diagnosis, this does not necessarily mean you will lose your baby or the baby will be born with health problems. The majority of all high risk pregnancies result in the birth of healthy babies.
What a high risk pregnancy diagnosis does mean is that it's even more important that you adhere to the advice of your OB provider and stick to a schedule of regular obstetric exams throughout your entire pregnancy. The precautions you take today may mean a world of difference.