Definition Pregnancy is the period from conception to birth. A pregnancy may be complicated by health problems or lifestyle issues known as risk factors. These risk factors can affect the mother or foetus, or both.
What is the information for this topic? A pregnancy is considered to be at risk when a problem is more likely than usual to occur. Such a problem could be caused by a health condition the mother had before she was pregnant. It could also arise during pregnancy or birth.
The small number of women who have known risk factors account for a large number of the problems that occur. However, not all problems can be predicted. About 1 in 5 infants who have serious problems are born to mothers who had no known risk factors during pregnancy.
Below is a list of health problems and other risk factors that most commonly affect pregnancy.
diabetes, which is a problem keeping sugar in the blood under control
severe asthma. This condition is marked by congestion in the tubes leading to and in the lungs. It causes difficulty breathing, coughing, and tight, noisy breathing.
Depending on the mother's medical history and family background and the results of routine tests, more tests to check the growth and health of the foetus may be suggested.
Genetic counselling is strongly advised for couples with a higher risk of having a child with a birth defect or serious genetic illness. Risk factors for this include:
a mother who will be 35 years old or older when the baby is due
Author: Dr. Karen Wolfe, MBBS, MA Reviewer: HealthAnswers Australia Medical Review Panel Editor: Dr David Taylor, Chief Medical Officer HealthAnswers Australia Last Updated: 1/10/2001 Contributors Potential conflict of interest information for reviewers available on request
