A high-risk pregnancy is any pregnancy that has increased risks both to the mother and the fetus and baby.
A high risk pregnancy is one in which some condition puts the mother, the developing fetus, or both at higher-than-normal risk for complications during or after the pregnancy and birth.
A woman with a high-risk pregnancy will need closer monitoring than the average pregnant woman. Such monitoring may include more frequent visits with the primary caregiver, tests to monitor the medical problem, blood tests to check the levels of medication, amniocentesis, serial ultrasound examination, and fetal monitoring. These tests are designed to track the original condition, survey for complications, verify that the fetus is growing adequately, and make decisions regarding whether labor may need to be induced to allow for early delivery of the fetus.
A pregnancy can be considered a high-risk pregnancy for a variety of reasons. Factors can be divided into maternal and fetal.
Theses incude women with medical or surgical disorders, such as:
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Preeclampsia (toxemia)
- Diabetes or other endocrine disorders
- Thyroid disease
- Kidney or gastrointestinal disease
- Infectious diseases
- Collagen-vascular diseases
- Sickle cell anemia
- Drug abuse
- Lung disease
- Seizure disorders
Healthy women whose pregnancy is at markedly increased risk for adverse outcome, such as:
- Abnormal AFP (alpha fetoprotein) blood test
- Twins, triplets or more
- Recurrent pre-term labor and delivery
- Premature rupture of membranes
- Recurrent pregnancy loss
- Suspected fetal growth restriction (baby not growing enough)
Here are some of the fetal causes of a high-risk pregnancy:
- Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR)
- Congenital fetal anomalies
- Fetal cardiac arrhythmias or problems
- Isoimmunization
- Hydrops fetalis
- Fetal infections such as parvovirus, coxsackievirus B, syphilis, toxoplasmosis
