Essay On High Risk Pregnancy

Pregnancy should be the happiest time during a women’s life but there are times when a women goes through difficulties during their pregnancy and therefore they tend to have high risk pregnancies. Six factors that lead to a high risk pregnancy are the following, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, chronic hypertension, consuming alcohol and the mother’s age, are some of the factors and conditions that can possibly lead to a high risk pregnancy. Gestational diabetis as we learn in chapter 15 complicates about 2 to 10 percent of pregnancies in the United States. We learn that most of the time gestational diabetes usually develops during the second half of the pregnancy. After the child birth it is likely that the mother will develop diabetes …show more content…
Getting pregnant at a very young age or at a very old age can come with several difficulties; a young mom in her teens can possibly increase the risk of low birth weight infants. It is reported that “pregnant teens are less likely to receive early prenatal care.” (Understanding Nutrition) Other common complications amongst young teen moms are iron deficiency anemia, prolonged labor. As we learn in chapter 15 the rates for stillbirths, preterm births and low birth weight infants are very high for young teen moms. An older woman with a later childbearing can most likely have complications such as hypertension and diabetes, complications such as the following can lead to a cesarean delivery. Not only does the mother face difficulties but the baby as well, a baby of a mother older than 35 is more likely to have some form of genetic abnormalities. “Fetal death is twice as high for women 35 years and older.” (Understanding Nutrition) Both young teen moms and older women run risk of having a high risk pregnancy, although the risk of dying is greater in late child bearing it is important for the mother to take care of herself at all times regardless of the