What is considered a high-risk pregnancy?

Have you been told that your pregnancy is high-risk? It can be a shock to hear that your pregnancy is considered high risk, but there are many reasons why your obstetrician has made this diagnosis. 

High-risk pregnancy, what does this mean? 

If your pregnancy is considered high risk, it means something poses a threat to you or your baby during pregnancy, birth or after delivery. You or your baby will need to be specially monitored and require special care to avoid complications. 

Some women will be considered high risk from the beginning, while others may develop a condition during their pregnancy that puts them into the high-risk category. Women with high-risk pregnancies can face more challenges during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum. 

There are a number of factors that place a woman in the high-risk category for pregnancy, which include: 

Age

While most women will have a healthy pregnancy and baby, the risks and complications in pregnancy increase as a woman ages. If you are over 35 years of age, you are at a greater risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, miscarriage, still or premature birth and having a baby with chromosome or other abnormalities. This means your obstetrician may suggest additional monitoring and tests throughout your pregnancy, depending on your situation.

Pre-existing medical conditions

There are a number of pre-existing medical conditions that place a woman at high risk during pregnancy and childbirth. You will be considered high risk if you have: 

• chronic kidney disease
• lupus
• epilepsy
• sickle cell anaemia
• thyroid disease
• clinical depression or anxiety disorders
• obesity – with a body mass index higher than 30
• diabetes
• high blood pressure.

Other factors that place you into the high-risk category include: 

• multiple births – twins, triplets and other multiples
• infectious diseases such as herpes or chickenpox
• if you’ve had a baby with a birth defect, a miscarriage or preterm labour or caesarean delivery in the past  
• a history of foetal growth problems.

Conditions developed during pregnancy

It’s not only pre-existing medical conditions that place you in the high-risk category for pregnancy. If you develop any of the following conditions during pregnancy you will be considered high risk: 

• high blood pressure 
• gestational diabetes
• preeclampsia 
• a small or growth restricted baby
• other significant health conditions.

High-risk pregnancy care with Grace Private

At Grace Private, all our obstetricians – Dr Yasmin Pilgrim, Dr Tania Widmer and Dr Adriana Olog – provide specialist care and testing for high-risk pregnancies. In addition, Dr Olog is the only Maternal Foetal Medicine specialist on the Gold Coast who also offers obstetric services. We understand not every pregnancy is the same, and our obstetricians have years of experience managing complex pregnancies.

If you’d like a Grace Private obstetrician to care for you throughout your pregnancy, ‘ask for Grace’ when you next visit your GP for a referral.