19 Sep, 2007
Pregnancy Complications
Posted by: admin In: Uncategorized
Complications :
Morning sickness is a problem encountered by about two out of three women, but is serious only in two or three in a hundred.
A miscarriage may occur within the first three or four months.
Pregnancy developing in an abnormal area (ectopic pregnancy) such as the Fallopian tube is a serious complication that requires urgent surgery.
Women are more likely to develop blood clots and diabetes during pregnancy, and doctors watch carefully for these complications.
Eclampsia (toxaemia of pregnancy) is a very serious complication of late pregnancy which causes high blood pressure, kidney damage, fitting, brain damage and death. It is very rare in Australia because early signs are detected by routine tests at antenatal doctors visits. Pre-eclampsia is easily treated once detected.
Premature labour occurs in about 15% of women, but is far more common in multiple pregnancies.
Outcome :
The vast majority of pregnancies result in the birth of a healthy child. Mild abnormalities occur in about 3% of births, and significant abnormalities in less than one in three hundred births.
Further information :
The Childbirth Education Association in every major city offers counselling and courses on pregnancy and labour.Clinics attached to all public maternity hospitals care for pregnant women.