Does a High-Risk Pregnancy Require More Prenatal Care Visits?

To carry your child for nine months and deliver them safely, your body goes through changes in a massive number of systems, including the endocrine, cardiovascular, respiratory, musculoskeletal, urinary, and integumentary (skin, hair, nails). This can lead to common symptoms like weight gain, leg cramps, ankles and feet swelling, and mood changes. 

There is always some measure of risk in every pregnancy that can result in complications, but a number of factors can contribute to your pregnancy becoming high risk. If you’re going through a high-risk pregnancy, you may be wondering if you need more prenatal care than most.

Women living in the Las Vegas, Nevada area trying to manage all the issues of a high-risk pregnancy can find help with Dr. Staci McHale and her dedicated team at WHASN Sunset Valley.

Facts about a high-risk pregnancy

As the name implies, a high-risk pregnancy is due to one or more issues that increase the chances of possible complications. This is likely to happen to very young women (under 20) or near the end of your reproductive years (over 35), as they raise your chances of other problems, like:

• Hypertension: high blood pressure can lead to preeclampsia

• Anemia: the lack of healthy red blood cells which creates many issues

• Gestational diabetes: placental hormones block insulin production, affecting blood sugar

• Stillbirth: if the fetus dies after 20 weeks of pregnancy

• Miscarriage: if the fetus dies before it reaches 20 weeks

• Ectopic pregnancy: when the fetus develops outside of the uterus

• Multiple births: having multiple children during a single pregnancy increases the risk of complication

• Problems during birth: preterm delivery, cesarean delivery, low birth weight, or postpartum hemorrhage

• Genetic disorders: spina bifida, heart defects, and Down syndrome can develop 

Lifestyle choices like drinking, smoking, and illegal drug use can affect the chances of these problems as well, along with problems during pregnancy like unusual placenta location, low fetal growth, and Rh sensitization (when your blood has an opposite Rh to the fetus). 

The need for more prenatal care

Prenatal care should start as soon as you know you’re pregnant, and if a high-risk pregnancy is confirmed, you need more care and attention to keep both you and the baby healthy. Getting more visits allows for more rigorous testing, like ultrasounds, blood and urine testing for possible genetic conditions, and biophysical profile and nonstress tests for fetal heart rate monitoring. There are also consultations depending on your specific issues, home blood pressure monitoring, and managing any preexisting conditions you may have.

High-risk pregnancies are common, with up to eight percent (50,000) of women dealing with it annually. If you get the care you need you should have no problems with your pregnancy or delivery.

If you need specialized care during pregnancy due to it being high risk or for other reasons, make an appointment with Dr. McHale and her staff at WHASN Sunset Valley today.