7 Ways to Manage a High-risk Pregnancy
A pregnancy diagnosis is one of the happiest and most overwhelming moments in a couple’s, especially a mother’s life. The joy a baby brings even before coming into this world is unexplainable. Both father and mother start planning and preparing for their child right from the beginning.
Pregnancy diagnosis can be more emotional and touching for a couple trying to conceive for a long time. This sense of joy and happiness can turn into a stream of panic and anxiety if your doctor gives you a high-risk pregnancy diagnosis. Of course, you will feel stressed and sad about losing your child and probably also scared. But here is the thing. Even if high-risk pregnancies are not very common and occur in 6 – 8% of cases, effective management of these cases is very much possible – ensuring the health of both mother and child. A strong support system, lifestyle adjustments, and a fully individualized healthcare plan are essential to controlling the risks involved in high-risk pregnancy.
Here are a few sincerely articulated pieces of advice you can act upon to ensure the safety of both the child and you
1. Precautionary Measures
A high-risk pregnancy can pose significant threats to the health of the developing fetus. A condition such as Erb’s Palsy – damage to the brachial plexus nerves (during labor or due to other factors) which travel from the spinal cord down the neck and into the arm, can cause this condition. A baby born with it will require years of medicines and physical therapy.
It is advisable to reach out to an experienced Erb’s palsy lawyer – especially when the condition results from medical negligence, to recover the medical expenses of treatment. Gestational diabetes, mother’s obesity, and weight gain during pregnancy are some factors that need to be checked to ensure the safety of both mother and child.
2. Support System is Necessary
Friends and family are indeed a blessing to us. They love you and always stand by you through every thick and thin. Make sure to surround yourself with friends and family who give you positive vibes and with whom you can easily and wholeheartedly communicate.
Other than your friends, you also need professional support. Talk to a professional counselor to accurately manage your stress and anxiety.
You can also consider joining support groups for high-risk pregnant women to have a safe space for elaborating and eliminating your concerns and worries.
Additionally, utilize the ease of social media platforms such as Facebook, find support groups there, and talk to many others going through the same condition.
3. Ensure Regular Checkups
Clinical visits and regular checkups are a part of every pregnant woman’s routine. But if you have a high-risk pregnancy, your doctor may want to keep the schedule of your checkups more strict – this is for your own good.
Regular testing ensures controlled blood pressure, sugar, and stress levels. The doctor checks the baby’s vital signs at each session and monitors their progress. If any possible concerns, such as gestational diabetes or preeclampsia, are detected, a doctor makes a treatment plan to ensure a safe pregnancy and birth.
Pregnancy is a constantly developing condition, and ensure your baby’s growth in the upcoming months is going fine. You should never skip any checkup and make it your foremost priority.
4. Keep yourself up to date and informed
A lot of factors are involved in making pregnancy a high-risk one – in which the life of the mother and the fetus can be in danger.
Age of the mother, gestational diabetes, development of twin fetuses, pre-existing conditions, or infections – all these factors can affect the normal development and growth of the fetus. Understanding these risk factors is crucial to keeping you and your baby healthy.
Ask your doctor as much as possible about all the risk factors to reduce the risks involved. Discuss customized diet plans, lifestyle changes, exercises, sleep schedules, and everything that may help you manage your pregnancy.
5. Make Self-Care a Priority
Prioritizing yourself and doing what you want and like to for de-stressing and staying happy will ultimately positively impact the health of the baby inside your womb.
To minimize the risk factors involved in your high-risk pregnancy and improve your overall health. You can practice meditation, ensure proper and uninterrupted sleep, eat healthily, and avoid stress as much as possible.
6. Manage pre-existing conditions
Pre-existing medical conditions are a factor that can cause risks in pregnancy. If you have any chronic illness and take medications, you need to manage it and not neglect it.
Keep in touch with your medical care provider if you have hypertension, diabetes, obesity, or HIV. Management of these conditions with medication and lifestyle changes helps your body to function normally throughout pregnancy.
7. Stop consuming alcohol, tobacco, and related substances
It is already a fact that taking alcohol or smoking tobacco or such stuff can seriously harm the health of a developing fetus. In the United States, prenatal alcohol consumption is a primary avoidable cause of birth malformations and neuro-developmental disorders. Tissue damage seriously threatens a baby when the mother is consuming tobacco. With a high-risk pregnancy, the mother should strictly avoid these activities and talk to a health care professional if there is an addiction to any such things.
Conclusion
High-risk pregnancies are rare but can occur to any pregnant woman. Undoubtedly, it can be a very challenging condition to manage, both physically and emotionally.
With the right care and guidance from the professionals, having a strong support system, ensuring regular checkups, adopting a healthy and stress-free lifestyle, eliminating alcohol and tobacco intake, and managing pre-existing conditions, one can significantly increase the chances of delivering a healthy and normal baby.
