changes to your vision, flashing lights or blurry eyesight, which are signs of pre-eclampsia. sudden, severe swelling in your hands, feet or face. an extreme itchiness of your skin, including hands and feet. a large amount of swelling in your legs (which is also painful)
Lifestyle choices. Smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and using illegal drugs can put a pregnancy at risk. Maternal health problems. High blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, epilepsy, thyroid disease, heart or blood disorders, poorly controlled asthma, and infections can increase pregnancy risks.
It is during this first trimester that the fetus is most susceptible to damage from substances, like alcohol, drugs and certain medicines, and illnesses, like rubella (German measles). During the first trimester, your body and your baby's body are changing rapidly.
In addition: 'If you have a blinding headache, flashing lights or blurred vision, a pain in the upper right hand of your abdomen or any of these symptoms from 20 weeks onward you should request an urgent review by your midwife or obstetrician,' adds Croft.
Risk factors for a high-risk pregnancy can include: Existing health conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or being HIV-positive. Overweight and obesity. Obesity increases the risk for high blood pressure, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, stillbirth, neural tube defects, and cesarean delivery.
High levels of stress that continue for a long time may cause health problems, like high blood pressure and heart disease. During pregnancy, stress can increase the chances of having a baby who is preterm (born before 37 weeks of pregnancy) or a low-birthweight baby (weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces).
Maternal stress has been associated with poor birth outcomes including preterm birth, infant mortality and low birthweight. Stress results in increases in cortisol, norepinephrine and inflammation which affect the fetal environment and have implications for maternal and infant health.
You may be considered high-risk if you have a history of miscarriage, preterm labor, or cesarean delivery. Likewise, if you've already had one child with a birth defect, any subsequent pregnancies may be treated as high-risk.
First Trimester (0 to 13 Weeks)
The first trimester is the most crucial to your baby's development. During this period, your baby's body structure and organ systems develop. Most miscarriages and birth defects occur during this period.
What pregnancy trimester is the hardest? For many women, the first trimester of pregnancy is often the hardest. During this period, your body is going through a major transformation and needs time to adjust to the changes.
Blurry or impaired vision. Unusual or severe stomach pain or backaches. Frequent, severe, and/or constant headaches. Contractions, where your stomach muscles tighten, before 37 weeks that happen every 10 minutes or more often.
nausea (upset stomach) that keeps you from keeping down liquids and food all day long or vomiting (throwing up) more than two to three times each day on most days. temperature higher than 100.4 F. painful urination or greatly increased urination. headache that doesn't go away after taking acetaminophen (Tylenol®).
Birth defects can happen at any time during pregnancy. But most happen during the first 3 months of pregnancy (also called first trimester), when your baby's organs are forming. Birth defects also can happen later in pregnancy, when your baby's organs are still growing and developing.
First trimester screening is a combination of tests completed between weeks 11 and 13 of pregnancy. It is used to look for certain birth defects related to the baby's heart or chromosomal disorders, such as Down syndrome. This screen includes a maternal blood test and an ultrasound.
Smoking, drinking alcohol, or taking certain drugs during pregnancy. Having certain medical conditions, such as being obese or having uncontrolled diabetes before and during pregnancy. Taking certain medications, such as isotretinoin (a drug used to treat severe acne). Having someone in your family with a birth defect.
Background. Many physicians advise pregnant women to sleep on their left side. Previous studies have linked back and right-side sleeping with a higher risk of stillbirth, reduced fetal growth, low birth weight, and preeclampsia, a life-threatening high blood pressure disorder that affects the mother.