Potential Contributors to High-Risk Pregnancy

Judith Abraham, an experienced nurse at medical centers across both Wyoming and Illinois, most recently served as interim director of obstetrics for Thermopolis Hospital in Wyoming. Judith Abraham has also coordinated care for high-risk patients at Illinois' Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, where she received the “I'm Your Advocate” award.

A high-risk pregnancy simply means that an expectant mother needs additional care during gestation and delivery. This may be due to the mother's preexisting health status or conditions that developed during the pregnancy itself. 

A woman who has high blood pressure, for example, may suffer kidney damage during pregnancy or deliver an infant with low birth weight if her condition goes untreated. Similarly, pregnancy-related conditions such as gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, a sudden increase in blood pressure, can develop in previously healthy women and put the health of both mother and baby at risk.

A woman may also have a high-risk pregnancy because she is particularly old or young. Teenage mothers tend to be more prone to high blood pressure and early delivery, while first-time mothers over the age of 35 may have difficulty with labor and are more likely to give birth to a baby with a genetic abnormality. Lifestyle factors, such as smoking or alcohol use, may raise a woman's risk of complications as well.