Healthy Habits: High-Risk Pregnancy - Common Factors

Pregnancy and being pregnant is an exciting time for women and couples, but for approximately 352,000 women each year it is also a very stressful and risky time. High Risk is a result of many factors ranging from age of the mother to high blood pressure. Dr. Daniel Roshan, a board certified high risk maternal fetal medicine doctor, in New York City, has extensive experience with high risk pregnancies. I had a chance to interview him to learn more.

What are some of the most common factors that make a pregnancy high risk?

 

 High risk is usually any condition that is not normal for example, mothers with medical conditions such as Asthma, heart disease, endocrine problems such as diabetes, thyroid dysfunctions. Obstetrics indications are small or very large baby’s, prior uterine surgeries, high blood pressure, premature labor, mothers older than 35, mothers who went through infertility process such as IVF. Fetal indication includes, anomalies, prior pregnancy with issues, genetics and structural defects, etc

What are some things that can happen later in pregnancy to make it high risk?  gestational diabetes, poor or excessive weight gain, high blood pressure, preeclampsia etc

 

How can women reduce their risk of a high risk pregnancy?

 

Try to do all their pregnancies at younger age preferably before 35 (of course not possible for all and with advance technology, there is not much to worry), eat healthy, start pregnancy with ideal body weight, don't gain more than recommended during pregnancy, have good prenatal care and deliver in good hands.

 

Are their ways to predict whether or not a pregnancy will be high risk? Yes, but long story. in general, obesity, older age, having medical issues or previous poor obstetrics history, etc.