Medical Conditions in Pregnancy

Medical conditions that can cause complications to an expectant mother and her fetus include diabetes, high blood pressure, seizures, heart disease, and obesity. It is important for a woman who is trying to conceive to get any health problems under control before becoming pregnant. This will minimize her risk of complications.

 

The use of any medication, either prescribed or over-the-counter, while trying to conceive as well as during pregnancy, should be reported to a physician. Some medications may cause harm to the unborn fetus. Please call us for more information.

 

Diabetes- It is important for women with diabetes to eat right, exercise, and maintain a normal blood sugar level before and during their pregnancy. This will increase their chances of having a healthy baby.  Possible complications to the infant as a result of poorly controlled diabetes in the mother include: macrosomia, birth trauma as a result of large size, hypoglycemia, and respiratory distress.

 

Hypertension- High blood pressure that was there before the start of a pregnancy is known as chronic hypertension. Hypertension that develops during pregnancy is known as gestational hypertension. High blood pressure whether it was a pre-existing condition or a new development can affect both the fetus and the mother during pregnancy. 

 

Women with a known history of hypertension should continue to take their antihypertensive medication during pregnancy. Some antihypertensive medications (i.e. ACE inhibitors) are not safe to use during pregnancy and the physician will then switch the patient to a safer medication such as methyldopa, etc. If the mother’s hypertension is well controlled, the risk of complications are small.  However, if hypertension is not treated during pregnancy, the fetus can suffer from IUGR (Intra-uterine growth restriction) and oligohydramnios (low fluid levels) due to placental damage caused by the high blood pressure. Frequent ultrasounds are done on these mothers to assess fetal growth and development. Finally, preeclampsia is pregnancy-induced hypertension that develops along with increased levels of protein in the urine. These women usually require bed rest and if severe enough may be hospitalized. If untreated, these women may develop eclampsia which is characterized by seizures and even death in the mother and fetus.

 

Seizures- It is important to know that while seizures can harm the unborn fetus by reducing the blood supply to the placenta, a pregnant woman with a well controlled seizure disorder can have a normal pregnancy. 

 

Anti-seizure medications should not be stopped during pregnancy, but may need changed. If you are pregnant or thinking of getting pregnant, you should talk to your physician regarding which medication is right for you during pregnancy. For women with seizures, the risk of neural tube defects in the fetus is increased and therefore they should start taking up to 4 mg of folic acid/day  2-3 months prior to becoming pregnant in order to minimize their risk.