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. [continue reading…]

by DP Nguyen

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Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy (PUPPP Rash)

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. [continue reading…]

by DP Nguyen

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What is a Molar Pregnancy?

Complete Molar Pregnancy Ultrasound

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. [continue reading…]

by DP Nguyen

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Fibroids in Pregnancy: Should You Worry?

pregnancy with fibroids, 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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by DP Nguyen

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