Drugs don't treat placental abruption, itself. When a woman has a placental abruption, she may be given a blood transfusion. This helps to restore balanced levels in the placenta and uterus, giving both mother and baby the fluids they need. If you may have to deliver before your due date, your doctor may prescribe medicines to help your baby's lungs grow and develop to lessen afterbirth complications.
Pregnancy Complications
Complications can fall into the category that is harmful to the baby and/or harmful to the mother. Many women develop gestational diabetes, which only affects the mother. Preeclampsia, which elevates the blood pressure of the mother during pregnancy, can be harmful to both mother and baby. Ectopic pregnancies can put both the mother and baby at risk when the embryo attaches to the fallopian tube, instead of moving to the uterus.
Miscarriages or premature births can also happen to pregnant women with certain risk factors. When going through labor, progress can slow, causing distress for the baby and mother. In some cases, a C-section is needed to keep from causing harm to both the baby and mother.
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Placental abruption is the separation of the placenta from the uterine wall before the birth of the baby. Once the placenta begins to detach from the uterine wall, the flow of oxygen and nutrients through the umbilical cord and to the baby is interrupted.
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See All 2 AnswersPolyhydramnios cannot always be detected. A mild case of polyhydramnios, occurring late in pregnancy, will not always cause noticeable symptoms. Fortunately, these cases are also unlikely to be harmful. Polyhydramnios will not necessarily persist to the end of pregnancy.
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There are no medications to treat a placenta previa but the woman might receive medications to prevent the complications of the placenta previa. These medications are dependent on the individual patient situation and may include:
- Stool softeners to prevent constipation and straining to defecate.
- Iron supplements to prevent or treat anemia
- Corticosteroids to enhance fetal pulmonary maturity if the risk of pre-term birth is imminent
- Tocolytic agent to decrease uterine irritability
- RhoGam (anti-D immunoglobulin) injection if the woman is Rh negative to prevent Rh sensitization
- IV fluids and blood transfusions to maintain circulating volume during episodes of acute bleeding.
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Doctors usually diagnose placental abruption based on the symptoms you are experiencing and by ruling out any other sources of those symptoms. Your doctor may perform a pelvic exam and check the level of pain you feel when the abdomen is pressed. You may also have your blood drawn (blood count) and have an ultrasound. Blood tests may examine your level of blood coagulation, which can affect placental abruption. Not everyone with this condition has a firm diagnosis before delivery. In some cases, when the placenta is studied post-delivery, doctors will be able to detect a placental blood clot, a tell-tale sign of the condition.
Placental abruption is not all that common. It happens in about 1 out 150 births. However, your risk for placental abruption can increase if you have high blood pressure, blood vessel disorders like vasculitis, blood clotting problems, diabetes, abuse alcohol or drugs, experience abdominal injury, or are older in age.
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St. Mark's Hospital answeredSee All 4 AnswersWomen who have had previous preterm deliveries are at greatest risk for premature labor.
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A nuchal cord occurs when the umbilical cord encircles the fetal head. It is sometimes referred to as the cord around the neck. Often it is documented as "nuchal cord x3" which means the cord is wrapped around the fetal head three times.
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Diagnosis of premature rupture of the membranes (PROM) is based on patient presentation and collection of clinical data.
Patients with PROM present with leakage of fluid, vaginal discharge, and pelvic pressure, but they are not having contractions.
Clinical data to diagnose PROM is a speculum examination of the vaginal cavity. During this examination the presence of pooling of fluid in the vagina or leakage of fluid from the cervix, ferning of the dried fluid under microscopic examination, and alkalinity of the fluid as determined by Nitrazine paper confirm the diagnosis.
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Ante-partum testing encompasses a variety of screening and diagnostic techniqies to evaluate aspects of intrauterine development and fetal well-being. In general, ante-partum testing procedures can be divided into two categories: genetic testing and diagnosis and fetal-maternal physiologic assessment.
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Dr. Daniel R. Spogen, MD , Family Medicine, answered on behalf of Univ. of Nev. School of Medicine, Family MedicineSee All 2 AnswersSymptoms of preeclampsia may include:
- severe headache
- right sided upper abdominal pain
- vision changes
- nausea/vomiting
- decreased urine output
- elevated blood pressure
- excess protein in the urine
- low platelet count
- impaired liver function