How Prenatal Care Looks Different for a High-Risk Pregnancy

Pregnancy should be an exciting time in a woman’s life, but a high-risk pregnancy often brings stress, anxiety, and a lot more office visits. Prenatal care for a high-risk pregnancy is crucial for you and your baby’s safety.

Getting the proper prenatal care during pregnancy is crucial for any woman, but especially when you’re at a high risk. At OB/GYN North Dallas, our experienced team of obstetricians and gynecologists provides excellent prenatal care for all expectant mothers.

What is a high-risk pregnancy?

A high-risk pregnancy is one where the fetus, mother, or both are at risk for increased complications. These complications may occur during pregnancy, labor, or at delivery.

High-risk pregnancies happen when the mother is over 35 or is living with certain chronic health issues. It may also occur due to the mother’s lifestyle, pregnancy-related complications, or multiples.

Just because you’re experiencing a high-risk pregnancy doesn’t mean you’ll automatically have complications. Many women go on to have healthy babies and uneventful deliveries.

Prenatal care — what to expect

When you have a high-risk pregnancy, you want to make sure your baby is safe over the nine-month period. We offer high-risk prenatal care that allows us to watch you and the baby closely for any complications.

One way we monitor you and your unborn baby is through more frequent ultrasounds and appointments. We check the fetal heart rate, perform blood tests, and conduct other specialized screenings to detect any issues early on.

We typically start monitoring you and the baby before 10 weeks of gestation to establish a baseline for the pregnancy. Specialized providers are also available for certain health issues or genetic problems.

Managing underlying medical issues is the key to a healthy, complication-free pregnancy. Treating issues like gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, or other issues is crucial for your health and that of your baby.

Your appointments may be more in-depth and frequent than those of mothers who aren’t at a higher risk. The goal is to keep you and your baby healthy for a complication-free delivery.

The differences in high-risk care

The major difference between high-risk prenatal care and regular care is the amount and frequency of appointments. Whether you’re of advanced maternal age or have an unborn child with health complications, we take your care to the next level.

Below are the major differences between typical prenatal care and that of women who are high risk:

• Closer monitoring for issues and complications
• Management of underlying conditions
• More testing and monitoring
• Specialized care teams
• Earlier and more frequent appointments
• Delivery planning

We take the time to listen to your concerns and provide you with every tool we have to ensure you and your baby stay healthy throughout pregnancy and delivery. 

Don’t let a high-risk pregnancy stress you out. Start by calling our Plano, Texas, office today or using our convenient online booking tool.