When women are pregnant iron requirements considerably increase. Iron is important to have good hemoglobin level, thanks to which oxygen is delivered to the cells in the whole organism. When you are pregnant, you have more blood and, consequently, need…
Category: Medical Problems During Pregnancy
Toxemia – Pre-eclampsia and Hypertension in Pregnancy
For generations, the “toxemias of pregnancy” have perplexed physicans. The problem still does. We now know a lot more about the disease process than we did a 100 years ago…..but still have little clue of what causes it or how…
Gestational Diabetes
About 4% of pregnant women will develop a diabetes-like condition during their pregnancy. Like diabetes mellitis, women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitis (GDM) will have high blood sugars. If not treated, many of these women will give birth to very large…
Diabetes Mellitis
Prior to the discovery of insulin (in 1922), the mortality rate of pregnant women with diabetes mellitis was 45%. It quicky dropped to 2% after the introduction of insulin. It became very clear that the pregnant woman with diabetes needed…
Fetal Fibronectin
You may start hearing more about a substance (and a test) called fetal fibronectin. Fibronectin is a protein that resides in the cells where the fetal membranes come in contact with the uterus. The fetal membranes are also known as…
Preterm Labor and Birth
9% of babies are born between the “age of viability” (about 26 weeks) and 37 weeks. These babies are born prematurely; before they are completely mature enough to function fully outside the mother.
Rh Sensitization
A woman with Rh-negative blood who becomes pregnant by an Rh-positive man creates the possibility of having a Rh-positive fetus inside a Rh-negative mother. In rare circumstances, if the blood of the fetus mixes with the mother’s blood (they’re not…
Anemia
Anemia is a condition in which the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood is reduced. Almost all living creatures on earth require oxygen to sustain life. In humans the blood is responsible for carrying oxygen to the cells of the body.…