PREGNANCY COMPLICATIONS AND MANAGEMENT

Most pregnancies occur without complications. However, some women who are pregnant will experience complications that can involve their health, their baby’s health, or both.

 

Sometimes, diseases or conditions the mother had before she became pregnant can lead to complications during pregnancy.

Some complications occur during delivery. Even with complications, early detection and prenatal care can reduce any further risk to a pregnant woman.

Some of the most common complications of pregnancy include:

• High blood pressure
• Gestational diabetes
• Preeclampsia
• Preterm labor
• Miscarriage

It is important to educate your clients to always talk to you about their disease before getting pregnant.

However, if a pregnant woman has the following health problems, she will need close monitoring from you in other to deliver safely.

Some examples of common diseases and conditions that can cause complications during pregnancy include:

• Diabetes
• Cancer
• High blood pressure
• Infections
• Sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV
• Kidney problems
• Epilepsy
• Anemia

Other factors that may increase the risk for complications include:

• Being pregnant at age 35 or older
• Being pregnant at a young age
• Having an eating disorder like anorexia
• Smoking cigarettes
• Using illegal drugs
• Drinking alcohol
• Having a history of pregnancy loss or preterm birth
• Carrying multiples, such as twins or triplets

The normal symptoms of pregnancy and the symptoms of complications are sometimes hard to distinguish. Although many problems are mild and don’t progress, you should always book appointments with your pregnant women clients in other to detect any problem at an earlier stage, doctor if you have any concerns during your pregnancy.

CAUSES OF SOME OF THE COMPLICATIONS

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure occurs when the arteries that carry blood from the heart to the organs and the placenta are narrowed. 

High blood pressure is associated with a higher risk of many other complications, like preeclampsia. It puts you at a higher risk of having a baby well before your due date (known as preterm delivery). Also, it increases your risk of having a small baby. It’s important to control your blood pressure with medications during pregnancy.

Mistletoe tea or Ficus exasperata leaves (Sandpaper) tea can be used to manage it.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes occurs when your body cannot process sugars effectively. This leads to higher-than-normal levels of sugar in the bloodstream. Some women will need to change their meal plans to help control blood sugar levels. Others may need to take some natural medicine to keep their blood sugar levels in control. Gestational diabetes usually resolves after pregnancy.

Avocado pear seed, Hunteria umbirata seeds (ABERE), and coconut water can be used to manage it if need be.

Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is also called toxemia. It occurs after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and causes high blood pressure and possible problems with your kidneys. The recommended treatment for preeclampsia sometimes is to deliver the baby and placenta to prevent the disease from progressing.

You might induce labor if the pregnant woman is 37 to 40 weeks pregnant. If it’s too early to deliver the baby, you will need to monitor the pregnancy closely.

You may use remedies like Portulaca quadrifida (Ewe Dasa) leaves decoction to help lower the blood pressure and help the baby mature if not yet in full term.

 

Preterm Labor

Preterm labor occurs when you go into labor before week 37 of your pregnancy. This is before your baby’s organs, such as the lungs and the brain, have finished developing.

We usually recommend bed rest to keep the baby from being born too early.

Miscarriage

A miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy during the first 20 weeks. According to the American Pregnancy Association (APA), up to 20 percent of pregnancies among healthy women will end in a miscarriage.

Sometimes, this happens before a woman is even aware of the pregnancy. In most cases, miscarriage is preventable.

A loss of pregnancy after week 20 of pregnancy is called a stillbirth. Many times, the cause is unknown. The likely causes of stillbirths are:

• problems with the placenta
• chronic health issues in the mother
• Infections, etc.

Anemia

Anemia means that you have a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells in your body. If you have anemia, you may feel more tired and weak than usual, and you may have pale skin. Anemia has many causes and you will need to treat the underlying cause of the anemia.

Taking supplements of iron and folic acid during your pregnancy may help, since most cases of anemia occur because of a deficiency.

Sorghum, Telfaria accidentally leaves (Ugwu vegetable) etc. can help.

Infections

A variety of bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections may complicate a pregnancy. Infections can be harmful to both the mother and the baby, so it’s important to seek treatment right away.

The following are examples of infection which can spread to your baby:

• A urinary tract infection
• Bacterial vaginosis
• Streptococcus
• Hepatitis B virus,
• Candida
• Trychomonas
• Salmonella typhoon etc.

Influenza toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a parasite found in cat feces, soil, and raw meat. You can prevent some infections by washing your hands often. You can prevent others, such as hepatitis B virus and influenza, by vaccination.

Ageratum conozoides, Aloe vera, can be used to manage such infections until the delivery period.

Twin -To-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS)

Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a condition of the placenta that can develop with identical twins who share a placenta.

Blood vessels connect within the placenta and divert blood from one fetus to the other. It occurs in up to 15-20 percent of twins who share a placenta.

In TTTS, blood is shunted from one fetus to the other through blood vessel connections in a shared placenta. Over time, the recipient fetus receives too much blood, which can overload the cardiovascular system and cause too much amniotic fluid to develop. The smaller donor fetus does not get enough blood and has low amounts of amniotic fluid, which can also cause serious problems.

Abnormal amounts of amniotic fluid. Polyhydramnios (too much fluid) and oligohydramnios (too little fluid) are more common in multiple pregnancies, especially in twins who share a placenta.

Postpartum Hemorrhage

The large placental area and over-distended uterus can place a mother at risk for bleeding after delivery when she’s pregnant with multiples.

LABOUR COMPLICATIONS

Complications can also occur during labor and delivery. If there’s a problem during labor, you may need to change the way you want to proceed with the delivery.

Breech Position

A baby is considered in a breech position when their feet are positioned to be delivered before their head. According to the researches, this occurs in about 4 percent of full-term births.

Most babies born in this position are healthy, meaning they rarely have life challenges. In hospitals, doctors will recommend against a vaginal birth if your baby shows signs of distress or is too big to pass safely through the birth canal, but in natural medicine, physicians of natural medicine can handle such easily if they find out that a baby is in the breech position a few weeks before delivery, they might change the position of the baby if the baby is still in the breech position when labor starts.

Placenta Previa

Placenta previa means that the placenta is covering the cervix. Doctors will usually perform a cesarean delivery if this is the case, but natural medicine, the natural medicine practitioner, will just try to hold the placenta with a fertility leave with small salt in it, everything will drop.

Low Birth Weight

Low birth weight usually occurs because of poor nutrition or the use of cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs during pregnancy. Babies who are born at a low birth weight have a higher risk of:

• respiratory infections
• learning disabilities
• heart infections
• blindness

The baby may need to stay in the hospital for a few months after birth for proper monitoring.

Always preach to your clients to report immediately, if pregnant, and noticed or experience any of the following:

• Bleeding from the vagina
• Sudden swelling of the hands or face
• Pain in the abdomen
• A fever
• Severe headaches
• Dizziness
• Persistent vomiting
• Blurred vision and if the baby is suddenly moving less often than usual during the third trimester.

The following steps may help promote a healthy pregnancy and prevent you from having a high-risk pregnancy:

• Eat a healthy diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and fiber.
• Take prenatal vitamins daily.