When you are pregnant, the health of your unborn child becomes your biggest concern. You want to make sure that your baby is thriving and growing in your uterus and that they develop as they should. However, many women are under the somewhat misguided impression that the goal is to have their baby get as big as possible before they give birth.
While a premature and/or underweight baby can certainly have health problems immediately after birth due to these circumstances, a child that is too large can also have health concerns. A larger-than-average child at birth is known in the medical community as fetal macrosomia. Get to know more about how this condition can impact you and your child so that you can make sure you take the best possible care of both of you during your pregnancy.
Fetal Macrosomia Can Lead To Trouble During Delivery
One of the first concerns when it comes to a child that has grown larger than average in utero is the potential trouble that fetal macrosomia can cause during the process of giving birth. The vaginal canal can only stretch so far before problems can arise when you are delivering a child naturally.
If your baby has fetal macrosomia, there is the chance that their shoulder will get stuck during delivery, a condition known as shoulder dystocia. During delivery, this can occur when the baby's head is visible but the delivery stops progressing. If the shoulders cannot pass, the umbilical cord can become pinched due to the pressure of contractions and the baby being partially born. This, of course, represents a fetal health emergency and requires swift action.
If your child has shoulder dystocia, your ob/gyn can attempt to maneuver the baby using specific techniques to manipulate your child's shoulders around the blockage. However, if this does not work or the situation is too serious, an emergency cesarean delivery will be the only option.
Fetal Macrosomia Increases The Risk Of Your Child Becoming Obese
Research on fetal macrosomia indicates that a child that is born at a higher than average birth weight is more likely to suffer from childhood obesity later in their childhood. This means that the health and weight of your child even before they are born can have a major impact on their health all throughout childhood and life in general.
Because of this, it is very important that you have regular checkups with your ob/gyn or family medicine doctor throughout your pregnancy and take heed of their recommendations if they say that you need to watch your weight gain, or if you are at risk of developing gestational diabetes. The more steps you take to prevent fetal macrosomia throughout your pregnancy, the better your child's health may be throughout their life.
Now that you know a bit more about fetal macrosomia and how it may affect you and your child, you can be more aware throughout your pregnancy and be sure that you are taking steps to maintain your baby's health. Contact a company like Orange Beach Walk-In Medical Care for more information.
Share4 July 2016
When it comes to taking care of yourself, some people only think about what they should avoid. However, making health care a priority is as much about preventing as it is about treating existing conditions. When I learned that I had skin cancer a few years ago, all I could think about was all of the sunblock I never put on. I want you to understand how to prevent problems, so that you can live a better life. Check out these articles to understand how to make health care a priority, and when you should visit with your doctor. It might seem like a small decision, but doing a little reading might make all the difference later.
