What Week Does the Risk of Pregnancy Complications Reduce?
Pregnant women often follow the development of their pregnancy on a weekly basis and educate themselves on the growth of their unborn baby. While unexpected complications can occur at any point during a pregnancy, it can be helpful to have an idea of the weeks in which the risks of these complications increases or decreases as well as some basic ideas on how to stay as healthy as possible during pregnancy.
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Significance
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The American Pregnancy Association reports that 6 million women become pregnant each year and 1,995,840 of these women will experience a pregnancy loss. Pregnancy complications will occur in another 875,000 of these pregnancies. In order to improve these statistics, women must be an active part of the solution by paying attention to their symptoms during different trimesters and reporting any issues to their doctor. While there is little doctors or women can do to prevent a miscarriage, preterm labor and pre-eclampsia can often be effectively controlled if they are caught early and treated promptly.
Miscarriage
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According to the American Pregnancy Association, 10 to 25 percent of medically recognized pregnancies end in miscarriage. Miscarriage, or spontaneous abortion, describes the involuntary ending of a pregnancy prior to 20 weeks gestation. Most miscarriages occur during the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, and your risk goes down to around 1 to 2 percent at that point. The available research seems to indicate that a woman's risk of miscarriage decreases after a fetal heartbeat is established via ultrasound, with a 1991 University of Pittsburgh study indicating that it drops to around 4 percent in women under 35 with no vaginal bleeding.
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Preeclampsia
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The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) estimates that high blood pressure issues such as preeclampsia or toxemia occur in 6 to 8 percent of U.S. women's pregnancies. While high blood pressure problems can happen at any point during a pregnancy, according to the Preeclampsia Foundation they are most likely to occur during the third trimester of pregnancy, which lasts from 27 weeks to the baby's birth at around 40 weeks
Preterm Labor
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Preterm labor, in which a baby is born prior to 37 weeks gestation, affects 12 percent of pregnancies in the United States. Preterm labor can occur anytime after your baby reaches viability, which means they have a chance of survival outside of the womb, until 37 weeks when they are considered full-term. The point at which a fetus is recognized as viable varies according to state laws or hospital ethics regulations, but most doctors and hospitals begin life-saving interventions at 24 weeks. While many women relax a bit when their babies reach the point of viability, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) preterm birth remains the highest risk factor for infant mortality in the United States.
Prevention/Solution
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Living a healthy lifestyle has been proven effective at helping to reduce a number of pregnancy complications. Before conceiving, try to make sure you are as healthy as possible by eating a balanced diet, taking a folic acid supplement and refraining from smoking or illicit drug use. Pregnant women should stop consuming alcohol, limit caffeine consumption and make sure they see their doctor regularly for prenatal check-ups. If a woman suspects she is having contractions or any other signs of labor prior to 37 weeks, she should contact her doctor's office immediately.
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