Last month, our blogs focused on pregnancy, morning sickness, and a healthier pregnancy. This month, we’d like to discuss high risk pregnancy. Just because you’re considered “high risk” doesn’t mean you won’t have a perfectly healthy baby. It just means that you need to take some extra precautions during pregnancy to protect yourself and your little one.
If you are older than 35, your physician may refer to “advanced maternal age” as a higher risk during pregnancy. As the Mayo Clinic describes it, “The biological clock is a fact of life, but there’s nothing magical about age 35. It’s simply an age at which various risks become more discussion worthy.”
Advanced maternal age can increase your chances of:
- Taking longer to get pregnant
- Becoming pregnant with multiples
- Developing gestational diabetes or high blood pressure
- Prolonged and/or non-progressing labor
- Delivering via cesarean (c-section)
- Having a baby with chromosome abnormalities
Many women have healthy babies in their 30’s and beyond. Whether you’re considered high risk or not, it’s important to seek prenatal care, eat a healthy diet that includes plenty of folic acid and other nutrients, stay active, and get plenty of rest. Your Capital Women’s Care provider is here to support you during pregnancy, answering any questions you may have and providing information on prenatal testing should you feel it necessary.
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