Pregnancy Complications

What is a Chemical Pregnancy?

A chemical pregnancy can be very upsetting, especially if you’ve been actively trying to conceive and desperately want a baby. It gets your hopes up for a pregnancy, but in the end, it’s just a very early miscarriage.

Here’s how a chemical pregnancy goes down – you take a home pregnancy test around the time of your missed period, and you are delighted to see that it shows a faint positive. (Of course, you are super excited and you share the news with your husband and maybe your family members.) Then, only a few days later, you start bleeding and have a heavy menstrual period. You are so bummed out, and if you ask your OB/GYN or doctor, he or she will just tell you that it was a “chemical pregnancy” – or a very, very early miscarriage. [Read more…] about What is a Chemical Pregnancy?

Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy (PUPPP Rash)

by DP Nguyen 9 Comments

Itchy rashes during pregnancy can be caused by a number of conditions, but if it’s your first pregnancy and you are carrying a boy, there’s a high possibility you have a condition called pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP) – also known as polymorphic eruption of pregnancy.

Roughly 1 out of every 150 pregnant women will develop the PUPPP rash. That’s roughly 1 percent, but it is the most common pregnancy rash in pregnant women. Fortunately, it does not harm your unborn baby in any way, but it is incredibly uncomfortable and annoying to you. [Read more…] about Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy (PUPPP Rash)

What is a Molar Pregnancy?

by DP Nguyen 7 Comments

A molar pregnancy (medically referred to as a hydatidiform mole) is a devastating and rare condition that occurs in 1 out of every 1,000 pregnancies. A molar pregnancy occurs early in the first trimester, when the tissue that would have grown into an embryo (and later your future baby) becomes a noncancerous (benign) tumor in your womb.

Molar pregnancies are a type of gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) – a group of tumors that develop inside a woman’s uterus. A majority of GTDs are non-cancerous, and these don’t spread into deep body tissues or invade other parts of the body. There are a few GTDs that are cancerous. [Read more…] about What is a Molar Pregnancy?

Fibroids in Pregnancy: Should You Worry?

by DP Nguyen 5 Comments

Having anything that complicates your pregnancy is scary. Fibroids, however, don’t have to be one of them. Many women who have fibroids in pregnancy have no trouble, and they deliver perfectly normal babies. However, being pregnant with fibroids does put you at risk for potential complications – including pain, bleeding, placental problems, preterm labor, and problems during childbirth. Because of the risk for pregnancy complications, your doctor will monitor your pregnancy closely and offer a treatment plan based on the size and location of your fibroids.

Try not to worry, though. Fibroids often don’t interfere with your pregnancy. You may not even need any treatment for them. Even with fibroids, you still have a good chance of having a healthy baby.

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What is Gestational Diabetes?

by DP Nguyen 3 Comments

Every pregnant woman in the United States will get tested for gestational diabetes in the second trimester – sometime between 24 and 28 weeks pregnant. This is a routine test that is part of regular prenatal care, and it allows your physician to provide better obstetric care.

So, what is gestational diabetes? And how can it affect your pregnancy?

What is Gestational Diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes (high blood sugar) that develops in pregnancy. For a majority of women, this form of diabetes occurs only during pregnancy. Unlike Type 1 or Type 2, gestational diabetes often disappears after your baby is born. In rare cases, gestational diabetes transforms into Type 2 diabetes after delivery. [Read more…] about What is Gestational Diabetes?

Blighted Ovum: Leading Cause of Early Miscarriage

by DP Nguyen 4 Comments

When you suffer a miscarriage (which is defined as a pregnancy loss before 20 weeks of gestation), you usually don’t know what triggered or caused it. Losing an unborn baby can be heartbreaking, especially if you’ve had your heart set on being a mother. In most cases, you aren’t to blame for your miscarriage.

In 1 out of every 2 miscarriages that occur in the first trimester, the pregnancy loss is caused by a complication called a blighted ovum (also called an anembryonic pregnancy).

A blighted ovum occurs very early in the conception process. Some women who experience this complication never knew they were pregnant; others get a positive home pregnancy test, but weeks later, at their prenatal visit, the embryo doesn’t show up on the ultrasound.
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