The goal of Gynecology specialists is to prevent high-risk pregnancies – although this is not always possible. To do this, it is important to attend a preconception (pre-pregnancy) consultation to thoroughly evaluate the mother to identify potential risk factors.
What is a high-risk pregnancy?
A high-risk pregnancy is considered to be one that involves an increased likelihood of complications that may result in illness or death for the mother or baby. These complications can occur before, during or after pregnancy.
Causes of a high-risk pregnancy
There are different causes that determine that a pregnancy is high-risk. The Spanish Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics classifies risk factors into 4 groups:
- Sociodemographic factors: maternal age (less than 15 or more than 35 years), weight, addictions (such as smoking), failure to follow up pregnancy or occupational risk.
- Medical history: hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, epilepsy, among others.
- History of previous pregnancies: repeated miscarriages, malformations, premature births, intrauterine growth retardation, among others.
- Illness in the current pregnancy: multiple pregnancy, pregnancy hypertension, repeated urinary tract infections, placenta previa, amniotic fluid alterations, etc.
Pregnancy risk levels
Depending on the amount or type of risk the mother has, we differentiate between 4 types of risk: none, low, medium or high.
Pregnancy monitoring varies according to the risk of the pregnancy. High-risk pregnant women have a stricter and more complete control, as well as a series of special cares. This sometimes involves referral to specialized maternal-fetal units with neonatal intensive care. A specific protocol will be applied for each patient according to their risks, the aim of which is the prevention and early diagnosis of complications.