Explaining a High-Risk Pregnancy – Not as Scary as it Sounds
When explaining a high-risk pregnancy, obstetricians can make it sound more serious than it really is. High-risk is just a term used to describe mothers who have a higher than average risk of having health problems during their pregnancy or birth, or of delivering a baby with problems.
Common risk factors are insulin-dependent diabetes, high blood pressure or signs of premature labor.
This term only reflects a statistical probability that a problem may occur in your pregnancy or with your baby; it is not an absolute prediction, and you, in fact, may have no problems at all.
When we are explaining a high-risk pregnancy, we prefer using the term “high-responsibility” pregnancy. Our term means more than using specialized, more attentive medical care and a high-tech hospital; it implies that you must take greater responsibility for your own care and for your own birth decisions.
Instead of resigning yourself to the high-risk label by becoming a passive patient and leaving all the birth decisions up to your doctor, become a high responsibility mother. Take an even more active part in the birth partnership.
You need to be more informed, more responsible, and more involved in decision-making than the average mother, and you need to take better care of yourself.
The first question you should ask your doctor after you are classified as “high-risk” is what specific things should you do to lower your risk.