Monitoring the fetal heart rate is essential to tracking your baby's growth and development during pregnancy. While in the womb, your baby's heart rate should be 120 and 160 beats per minute, according to MedlinePlus. The heart rate may rise when...
Placental abruption (abruptio placentae) is a pregnancy complication that occurs when the placenta separates from the uterine wall prior to delivery. The placenta can separate partially (partial placental abruption) or completely (complete or...
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, a relatively uncommon medical issue associated with birth, occurs in two to four newborns out of every 1,000, according to Georgetown University Hospital. If left untreated, this condition can cause developmental...
Uterine fibroids, also called myomas, are noncancerous growths of the uterus. They occur in women of all races and backgrounds, but are more common in women of African or Caribbean descent. Primarily diagnosed when a woman is in her 30s or 40s,...
Hypertension--better known as high blood pressure--is a condition that may develop before or after conception. While dangerous to anyone, it can cause many complications for expectant mothers, which is why your doctor monitors your blood pressure...
Placenta previa, which occurs in one in 200 births, can be a serious complication of pregnancy. Placenta previa means that the placenta, the organ that supplies nutrients to the growing fetus, implants low on the uterine wall, partially or...
While pregnant, any substance you ingest will cross the placenta and reach the fetus. This is true for oxygen, food, drugs and alcohol. Drug use can cause the fetus to struggle for sufficient nutrients and oxygen, leading to problems with organ...
Babies in-utero do not use their lungs to breathe or their mouths to eat. So how do they get the necessary nutrition and oxygen to grow and thrive? A womb has a complex support system sustaining the fetus with the necessary nutrients and oxygen...
If you smoke while you are pregnant, you put both yourself and your unborn child at risk for significant health complications, according to the American Cancer Society. Your unborn baby relies upon you for necessary oxygen, nutrients and blood....
A major part of family planning is determining the most suitable interval between pregnancies. For each family, a variety of factors ranging from culture to finances influence this decision. According to MayoClinic.com and the Utah Department of...
Smoking has long been recognized as a leading contributor to death and disease worldwide. Despite the known harmful health effects of smoking, however, the March of Dimes reports that at least 10 percent of pregnant women in the United States...
Crystal meth is a stronger version of the drug methamphetamine. The National Drug Intelligence Center indicates that there are several detrimental risks to the user such as increased blood pressure and heart rate. Damage to the blood vessels in...
According to the American Lung Association (ALA), cigarette smoke contains more than 4,800 chemicals, and 69 of those are known to cause cancer. Smoking is associated with such illnesses as cancer, heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary...
According to the American Cancer Society, 10 to 16 percent of women smoke throughout their pregnancies, putting themselves and their babies at risk for a number of health issues. In fact, up to 5 percent of infant deaths would be prevented if...
Hypertension, or blood pressure that is higher than normal, is a common pregnancy complication. There are several types of hypertension in pregnancy. Hypertension can be chronic--occurring before pregnancy or early in pregnancy. Pregnancy-induced...
While abortion continues to be a hotly debated topic throughout America in 2010, women are still seeking the procedure when they feel they are not ready to a child, have been raped or their health is in danger. The Westside Pregnancy Clinic says...
A stable blood pressure is essential for the body's heart, arteries and veins. A blood pressure reading has two numbers. The top number represents the pressure in the arteries during the heart's contraction, this is called the systolic number. The...
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, occurs when the force of the blood pressing against the walls of the arteries is too high. Generally, normal blood pressure should fall below 140/90 during a blood pressure reading. If either number...
High blood pressure, also known as HBP or hypertension, is associated with increased risk for diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. Hypertension during pregnancy poses additional risks that affect the mother and her infant, including low...
A Caesarean section, also known as a c-section, can be completed in as little as 30 minutes and rarely takes longer than 45 minutes. Regional anesthesia, usually in the form of an epidural, is used except in an emergency where general anesthesia...
Spotting during pregnancy is a frightening event for most women, but it doesn't always mean there's something wrong with the pregnancy or that miscarriage is inevitable. Women spot during pregnancy for several reasons. Spotting is most common in...
Abdominal cramping is a common and usually harmless ailment that many women experience during the late stages of pregnancy. Third trimester cramping can be due to a variety of factors, only some of which are serious. Understanding the symptoms...
While the first labor might have been a painful and difficult experience, more women find the second labor to be a much easier -- and possibly enjoyable -- experience. While labor usually begins at term -- defined as after 37 weeks -- the...
If you experience recurrent miscarriage, which is considered three or more consecutive miscarriages, your doctor may suggest heparin therapy. Heparin, a blood thinner, can prevent clotting in the blood vessels caused by antiphospholipid syndrome...
An abnormally high number of platelets in pregnancy is far less common than low platelet levels. High platelet levels are either essential, or primary, meaning that an excess of platelets are being made in the bone marrow. Reactive, or secondary,...
If you have an anterior placenta in pregnancy, it means that the placenta, which nourishes the baby throughout pregnancy, has implanted on the side of the uterus closest to your abdominal wall. An anterior placenta might make it harder for you to...
Hypertension is defined by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as blood pressure readings greater than 140/90 mm Hg. According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, hypertension occurs in 6 to 8 percent of all...
Uterine fibroids, or just fibroids, are benign, or not cancerous, tumors of the uterus. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, around 25 percent of American women have fibroids. Although not usually dangerous,...
Pain in the abdominal area during pregnancy, including menstrual-like cramps, can be startling. There are a few perfectly safe explanations for late pregnancy cramping, such as that which occurs during the 33rd week. In some cases, menstrual...
