High Risk Pregnancy

Compassionate care for healthy beings

A high-risk pregnancy increases the chances mothers and their unborn babies develop serious health problems. At Reid Health, we’re committed to providing exceptional maternity care to you and your baby.  

If you have a high-risk pregnancy, our board-certified women’s health and birthing providers throughout East Central Indiana and West Central Ohio will be with you every step of the way to provide support, ease anxiety, and care for the health of you and your baby throughout your pregnancy.

What is high-risk pregnancy?

A high-risk pregnancy one that poses an increased chance of complications for you, your baby, or both of you.  

Your pregnancy might be considered high risk for many reasons, including your age, whether you had a medical condition such as diabetes or high blood pressure before you were pregnant, or complications from previous pregnancies.  

If you have a high-risk pregnancy, your OB/GYN will want to monitor you more closely and offer specialized care so you and your baby have as healthy a start to life together as possible. 

Risk factors for a high-risk pregnancy 

Although complications can arise even in healthy women, certain factors increase the chances of a high-risk pregnancy, including:  

• Age: Being 35 or older or 17 or younger can make your pregnancy high risk.
• Carrying multiples: Having twins, triplets, or other multiples can increase your chances of developing preeclampsia (a type of high blood pressure during pregnancy) or having preterm labor and birth.
• Existing health conditions: Having high blood pressure or diabetes before becoming pregnant or being HIV positive can put you at greater risk.  
• Lifestyle factors: Smoking, drinking alcohol, or taking illegal drugs while pregnant can greatly increase the risk for complications.  
• Weight: Women who are overweight or obese are at higher risk for many pregnancy-related health conditions, including preeclampsia and gestational diabetes (a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy). 

Common pregnancy complications

Having a high-risk pregnancy puts you and your baby at greater risk of developing complications throughout the pregnancy and birth. Those complications can include: 

Anemia

Not having enough healthy red blood cells during pregnancy can lead to anemia, which can cause tiredness, weakness, and shortness of breath. Taking iron and folic acid supplements helps most women with those symptoms. 

Depression

Pregnancy-related depression can occur during pregnancy or after birth. If you experience extreme sadness or thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, talk to your healthcare provider right away. Therapy, support groups, and medicines can help.  

Ectopic Pregnancy

This occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside of the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube. As the egg grows, it can cause the tube to rupture, which is a medical emergency. Ectopic pregnancies must be treated with surgery or medication to end the pregnancy. 

Fetal problems

Birth defects and other health problems with your baby might require special care before or immediately after birth. Some problems require you to be on bed rest or deliver your baby early. Prenatal tests can usually show these problems, allowing you and your provider to find the care you and your baby need. 

Gestational diabetes

This type of diabetes develops during pregnancy. Hormones can affect the way the body uses insulin, causing sugar to build up in the blood. Gestational diabetes requires treatments and dietary changes to help keep the baby as healthy as possible and prevent pregnancy complications, such as preterm labor and delivery.  

Gestational hypertension (high blood pressure) and preeclampsia 

Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. Gestational hypertension occurs when you had normal blood pressure before becoming pregnant but developed high blood pressure after 20 weeks of pregnancy.  

Your provider will monitor you closely to make sure your blood pressure doesn’t get too high and develop into preeclampsia, which can cause liver and kidney problems as well as seizures and strokes. In severe cases, women with preeclampsia might need hospitalization or preterm birth via cesarean section (C-section). 

Hyperemesis gravidarum 

Many women experience nausea and vomiting, or “morning sickness,” in the first weeks and months of pregnancy. However, women with hyperemesis gravidarum have severe nausea throughout pregnancy. Some women feel better after the 20th week, but others experience this condition through the third trimester. Some women need hospitalization to replenish fluids and nutrients.  

Placenta previa  

This occurs when the placenta covers the opening of the cervix inside the uterus, causing vaginal bleeding during the second and third trimesters. If you develop a mild case of placenta previa, you might need only to cut back on activity. In more severe cases, you might need to be hospitalized until the bleeding stops, or the baby might need to be delivered via a C-section. 

Placental abruption 

This occurs when the placenta separates from the uterine wall, which can be dangerous to your baby. Mild and moderate separations usually require bed rest. If more than half of the placenta has separated, a preterm birth might be necessary.

Pregnancy loss 

Losing a pregnancy can be devastating. You can get pregnant after a miscarriage or stillbirth, but your provider might consider your pregnancy high risk as a result. The reasons for pregnancy loss are not always known. Miscarriage, defined as losing a pregnancy before 20 weeks, usually happens due to genetic problems in the fetus. Stillbirth, which is pregnancy loss after 20 weeks, can occur because of genetic problems, infections, or lack of fetal growth. If you get pregnant after a miscarriage or stillbirth, your providers will do their best to keep you and your baby healthy.  

Preterm labor 

Preterm labor begins before the 37th week of pregnancy. Because a baby’s organs typically are not fully developed until 39 or 40 weeks, preterm labor raises the risk of health problems for the baby. In some cases, medicine can stop the labor, but some women must have a preterm birth.