Did you just hear that your pregnancy is high-risk or have you had previous high-risk pregnancies in the past? Be very cautious! High-risk pregnancies make the risk of some uncontrollable complications during as well as after childbirth much higher. It is very important that your pregnancy is monitored by a high-risk OB/GYN. 

Several high-risk pregnancy obstetricians in Melbourne provide the best maternal-fetal care. Understanding what factors increase the chance of a complicated pregnancy can help you prevent it from occurring.

So, we are here with this blog post to educate you about the factors contributing to high-risk pregnancies and how to prevent them. Read on to learn more about this. 

In this post, the following will be discussed. 

• Factors Causing High-Risk Pregnancies
• Tips For Reducing Chances Of High-Risk Pregnancy

Factors Causing High-Risk Pregnancies

For most women, medical issues before a pregnancy can be the reason for the high-risk case. However, for others, medical conditions developing during any of the trimesters can be the cause. It can severely affect a woman as well as a growing child. 

Typical factors that may be responsible for high-risk pregnancy are:

• age 17 or younger
• age 35 or older
• carrying multiples
• underweight or very overweight before conceiving
• Unhealthy lifestyles like eating junk food and consuming drugs, alcohol, or smoking
• dealing with diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, or other health issues
• complications in a previous pregnancy that might include early labor or giving birth to a baby with congenital issues or birth defects.

All these factors can not be changed easily but there are some important facts to keep in mind for a healthy pregnancy. Learn what steps you can take for preventing high-risk pregnancy. 

Tips For Reducing Chances Of High-Risk Pregnancy

Treat Pre-Existing Health Issues

The main factor highly contributing to a high-risk pregnancy is pre-existing health issues. Therefore, it’s essential to plan a pregnancy only when you ensure that your primary medical issues are well-treated, and your health is good for conceiving. 

Seeing high-risk pregnancy obstetricians can help you schedule pregnancy care and childbirth plans, working suitably around your health issues. Common conditions, impacting your pregnancy are: 

• High blood pressure
• Heart disorders
• Diabetes
• Autoimmune disorders, such as multiple sclerosis or lupus

Pregnancy places a heavy burden on your body. Managing all health issues with the right lifestyle changes and proper medication prior to pregnancy enables the body to work efficiently when pregnant. 

Maintain a Healthy Weight Before Conceiving

When pregnant, obesity is one of the main factors that increase the chances of various complications in pregnancy. Gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, stillbirth, and preeclampsia are other common causes. 

So, if you are planning pregnancy, maintaining a healthy weight reduces the complications. Following a well-balanced diet with proper exercise can have a great impact. Therefore, consult high-risk pregnancy obstetricians and get a diet chart for controlling excess weight. 

Try to remember that a healthy weight insures normal labor and delivery. If you’re overweight, problems may arise during delivery, increasing the possibility of a c-section. 

Follow a Better Lifestyle

Well, one way to prevent a high-risk pregnancy is by you changing some lifestyle factors. Such as: 

• Eating Healthier: Eat food rich in calcium, folic acid, and other vital nutrients when pregnant. Ensure all these are included in your daily meals.
• Go to Regular Prenatal Checkups: In terms of a high-risk pregnancy, obstetricians recommend regular visits for close monitoring of your growing baby’s health. Problems, if any, can be diagnosed and treated on time. Your OBs might refer you to some specialists in maternal-fetal medicine, genetics, or pediatrics according to your health condition.

Quit Alcohol, Drugs, And Smoking

Consuming alcohol, drugs, or smoking increases the risk of certain complications in pregnancy. These toxic substances can easily harm the growing baby.

• Alcohol: Drinking alcohol while pregnant raises the chances of miscarriages, stillbirths, and (FASDs) fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. When you are planning a pregnancy or are pregnant, no specific amount of alcohol is right. 
• Smoking: Smoking harms the growing infant’s brain and lungs. In addition, there can be the probabilities of preterm birth, stillbirth, or low birth weight.
• Drugs: Regular drug consumption can have severe consequences. There is a link between certain drugs to low birth weight and birth defects, leading to long-term health problems. Moreover, the newborn might also suffer from a few issues after delivery, like sleep issues, vomiting, and severe seizures.

It is important, to be honest with your doctor about drinking, smoking, and drug consumption. If using these toxic substances has become an addiction to you, they will support you to get out of this. 

Consider Your Mental Health

Most pregnant women deal with chronic stress when dealing with a high-risk pregnancy. As a consequence, they struggle with depression.

• Firstly, it is important to learn that you are not responsible for your pregnancy being risky. But, this might not be easy to bring to your mind. 
• Do not hesitate to ask for the doctor’s advice if you need to share anything with someone. It is applicable both at the time of pregnancy as well as after the delivery. Most women do not feel comfortable communicating with male OBs. So, don’t worry, there are private obstetricians in Melbourne, supporting the patients mentally and physically. You can conveniently share whatever concern or doubt you have in mind. 
• Just remember that you should always be open and honest. When doctors know what actually is causing problems, then only they will be able to provide the right treatment.

Join Prenatal Yoga Classes

Yoga helps in relaxing, stretching, and toning your muscles, and additionally enhances body balance and breathing. Trainers teach visualization techniques, relieving stress, anxiety, and pain. Also, they guide you on how to prevent body tightening when you are tenser. 

Besides this, yoga lowers heart rate and high blood pressure. Moreover, what can be more relaxing than meeting other pregnant women as it can be another big support? In addition, different poses are helpful in lowering the risk of preterm birth, infants with slow development, and preeclampsia.

In Conclusion

Taking action to enhance your health before and during pregnancy can really make a huge difference for you and your growing baby. Most importantly, consulting high-risk pregnancy obstetricians is best to ensure a healthy and safe pregnancy. We hope you found this blog post useful for becoming more aware of the factors affecting high-risk pregnancy.