4 common diseases in pregnancy
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During pregnancy, you can have some diseases that you must treat so that it does not become anything serious. Here we tell you some of the most common
The hormonal changes present in pregnancy can be the cause of some diseases. Although most are easily treatable, it is best to be aware of any symptoms that may be atypical, so you can ensure that you and your baby are always healthy. Keep in mind that many of these hormonal changes; sometimes you will have to regulate with some supplements or vitamins to have all the necessary nutrients.
Leer en español: 4 enfermedades comunes en el embarazo
Some of the most common diseases in pregnant women are not exclusive of pregnancy, but they do have some differences that a person who is not pregnant can suffer. These are, for example, anemia and diabetes. These are easy to treat, and in most cases, with a regulated diet can be controlled. On the other hand, there are also conditions exclusive to pregnancy, which must be treated with care by a doctor, such as preeclampsia and detachment of the placenta.
Then we will tell you a little about these 4 situations that you may suffer during your pregnancy so that you are more prepared if it happens.
1. Iron-deficiency anemia
Throughout pregnancy, the blood volume of the mother increases; it must meet their needs and those of the baby. This can cause a decrease in red blood cells in the blood, resulting in anemia. Usually, one of the nutrients that most begins to consume the body of the woman and baby is iron, so the lack of this can lead to suffering from this disease.
The main thing to avoid presenting anemia is to take care of food. Being caused by a lack of iron, pregnant women should consume foods with high amounts of iron. This nutrient is found mainly in red meat and fish, in eggs, and some cereals. It is also found in some green vegetables, although in the process of digestion is not processed the same amount.
The mother can identify possible anemia due to excess fatigue, lack of concentration, insomnia, excessive headache, cramps and pallor of the skin. However, it is better to have tests that show the level of the nutrients in the body as soon as you know about your pregnancy status. In this way, from having low iron levels, from the beginning, you can regulate the diet to prevent anemia.
2. Gestational diabetes
Although it has the same name as the common disease of diabetes, it is transient. In this, blood glucose levels rise atypically. These increases are usually given from week 12 when the mother begins to produce more sugar in the body to provide energy to the baby.
If care is not taken, gestational diabetes, although it is not a severe illness in itself, can be a cause of other diseases such as preeclampsia or placental abruption, or it can even affect the health of the baby once it is born.
Being common, during weeks 24 to 28 an exam called O 'Sullivan Test is performed. Depending on the results, the doctor will prescribe a specific diet to prevent glucose levels from continuing to rise. In case the levels are already very high, specialized treatment is usually carried out.
Read also: Babies & moms: the consequences of a cesarean
3. Preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is usually common in pregnancy and disappears after giving birth. Not for that reason, this disease must go unnoticed, because it can turn out to be harmful to the baby and the mother. High blood pressure is the leading cause of this disease and can be detected through urine tests because it has an excess of protein in it.
General discomfort, headache, nausea, and blurred vision may be some of the symptoms. However, it is usually a silent disease. The recommended thing is that after week 20, which is when it often appears, the mother will perform regular urine tests. The age of the mother can be a factor causing the disease, especially if it is less than 20 or greater than 40, according to the website My Baby and Me.
Although preeclampsia is still a kind of an enigma for the medical world, one of the advice given by the same portal is exercise, not gain more weight than recommended, reduce salt intake and avoid stress.
In this LatinAmerican Post article, you can learn a little more about preeclampsia.
4. A detachment of the placenta
Abnormalities in the placenta are usually caused by different reasons, and may also have different results. Although in most cases it is not severe, it can be alarming for the mother because it sometimes ends in premature delivery.
In a normal case, the placenta, the organ that protects your baby for nine months, is released after delivery from the uterine wall. But in cases that occur before this, it can lead to an unplanned delivery, which may become premature, or a cesarean section.
The majority of care that must be taken during pregnancy helps prevent this from happening. That is, most anomalies and diseases in pregnancy, such as those mentioned previously in this article, can end in the detachment of the placenta. However, it can also happen because from the beginning, the placenta formed in the lower part of the uterus, making it weaker.
In addition to advancing labor by detachment, this also occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy, being the main cause of fetal death and miscarriage. Not in all cases where there are complications of the placenta at this point of pregnancy ends in fetal death, if detected in time, absolute rest can be the solution.
LatinAmerican Post | Juliana Suárez
Translated from "4 enfermedades comunes en el embarazo"
