Pregnancy comprises of several risk factors involving both the mother and the fetus. Hence, the pregnant woman should be under constant watch of a medical practitioner. Pregnancy complications could range from maternal weight problem and anemia to various diseases contracted during pregnancy. Some of the common abnormalities of concern are spontaneous abortion, ectopic pregnancy, Hyperemesis gravidarum, Placenta praevia, Erythroblastosis foetalis, multiple pregnancies etc.
Spontaneous abortion or miscarriage generally occurs within 28 weeks of pregnancy. It is a natural phenomenon. There are several causes for a miscarriage. It could be because of infections contracted by the mother. For example, diseases like small pox, typhoid etc., may result in miscarriage of the fetus. Sometimes it could occur from drugs and x-rays. Abnormalities of the placenta or that of the maternal genital organs could be the other reasons for miscarriage. Hence a woman should be very careful during her pregnancy to avoid such mishaps.
At times the pregnancy terminates between the 28th and 40th weeks. This is known as premature labor.
The next common problem is ectopic pregnancy where the fertilized egg implants itself outside the uterus. It could be of two types – tubal and ovarian. In tubal pregnancy the egg gets implanted in the fallopian tube whereas in ovarian, the implantation takes place in the ovaries. Ovarian pregnancies are more difficult to detect.
When a pregnant woman suffers badly from excessive nausea and vomiting, she loses weight rapidly. This is known as hyperemesis gravidarum. Generally the situation becomes alright once she is taken to a hospital and is given liquid nutrition intravenously. In a rare case the pregnancy is medically terminated to save the mother.
The problem of placenta praevia could be detected early with the help of an ultrasound. This happens when the placenta covers the opening of the cervix into the vagina. It is detected by sudden and heavy vaginal bleeding and it’s a real concern for both the mother and the fetus if the bleeding continues. If this happens to a 30-week old pregnancy, the baby is delivered by operation. At times another problem may occur to certain women; i.e. the placenta begins to separate from the wall of the uterus before time. However, this rarely happens. And generally it happens to the women with heart problems, high BP etc.
Erythroblastosis foetalis occurs due to RH incompatibility. In this case, the fetal blood cells get damaged by the antibodies present in the mother’s blood. However, the first child is safe from all this. It affects only the subsequent children. This could be taken care of with blood transfusion of the baby.
Multiple pregnancies are not necessarily a complicated one, but in their case more attention is needed. Multiple babies compete for nutrition and space and they have the high chances of abnormal placing inside the uterus.