Big babies get all of the attention in the news, but what about tiny full term babies? When a full term baby is much smaller than usual, it is called intrauterine growth restriction, or IUGR. Not all small babies are diagnosed with IUGR; those that do often have low amniotic fluid levels and do not grow at normal rates. If a baby stops growing, the doctor may choose to deliver the baby early to save his or her life. Before making any kind of decision to deliver early, the doctor will perform a variety of tests to determine the health … Continue reading →

Yesterday I talked about the risks of not knowing you are pregnant, as is in the case of the women on the show I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant. I talked about the risks associated with continuing birth control or not taking prenatal vitamins during pregnancy. Turns out the risks associated with not taking prenatal vitamins are low if you are eating a well balanced diet. Taking birth control during pregnancy does pose a risk, but not in terms of birth defects. Today I’m going to talk about the risks associated with drinking alcohol, smoking, and risky activity, such as … Continue reading →

In my last blog, I talked about new research that suggests a woman has a window of until the 15th week of pregnancy to quit smoking. If she quits by then, her chances of having a preterm birth or a baby of low birth weight are lowered to the same level as a non smoker. If she continues smoking beyond that point, the risk of having a preterm birth is triple that of a non smoker. In that blog, I suggested this new evidence could give women an added boost of motivation to quit. A comment in that blog talked … Continue reading →

Realizing you are spotting is one of the scariest moments in a pregnancy. It immediately brings fear of miscarriage to mind. However, there are several causes of spotting in pregnancy. Some are potentially dangerous and others are less serious. Spotting isn’t all that uncommon. According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, about twenty percent of pregnant women experience spotting in the first trimester of pregnancy. While spotting may not be cause for alarm, you should always report it to your health care provider. Spotting is one of the main symptoms of a miscarriage, so call your doctor and … Continue reading →

While most women are healthy throughout pregnancy, some will be put on bed rest at some time in the pregnancy. About one million pregnancies each year are categorized as high risk. For many of these women, there will be restrictions on activity, including periods of bed rest. There are several conditions that will necessitate bed rest. Pre eclampsia commonly results in at least some bed rest. This condition occurs in five to ten percent of pregnancies. Bed rest may be at home, in the hospital, or periods of both hospital and home bed rest. Other reasons for bed rest include … Continue reading →

About 70% of all pregnant women have an ultrasound during their pregnancies. The technology is considered to be safe and many doctors do one routine ultrasound at about eighteen or twenty weeks of pregnancy. The test may be done at other times, if a complication arises. Although most consider the test safe, some are not convinced. I will address this side of the issue in a separate blog early next week. Your doctor can gain a surprising amount of information from the ultrasound. In early pregnancy, it can be used to diagnose problems with vaginal bleeding, confirm pregnancy and detect … Continue reading →