![]() ![]() While you are pregnant, doctors can measure the amount of amniotic fluid present through various methods such as deep pocket measurements or the amniotic fluid index (AFI) evaluation. Oligohydramnios, commonly known as low amniotic fluid is a condition in which, a pregnant woman has too little amniotic fluid. If the measurement of the fluid is too low, it is called oligohydramnios while, if it is too high, it is called polyhydramnios. Sometimes, this fluid may measure too high or too low. As the baby grows, she or he will move in the womb with the help of this fluid, and in the second trimester, the baby will begin breathing and swallowing the amniotic fluid. ![]() It is first made up of water which is provided by the mother, and by about 20 weeks the foetal urine becomes the primary substance. This fluid is produced soon after the amniotic sac forms, i.e., about 12 days’ post-conception. The failure of an obstetrician to diagnose and carefully manage a patient with decreased amniotic fluid levels, or oligohydramnios, can directly lead to a significantly increased risk of fetal death or permanent neurologic injury.īecause of the significant risks associated with moderate to severe decreases in amniotic fluid levels, or oligohydramnios, many safe and careful obstetricians will deliver their patients suffering from oligohydramnios well prior to term.The amniotic fluid is a part of a baby’s life support system that protects the baby and assists in the development of the muscles, lungs, limbs and digestive system. If oligohydramnios is assessed during the labor and delivery process, a safe and careful obstetrician will frequently utilize amnioinfusion, a process by which fluid is administered into the uterine cavity to prevent umbilical cord compression and to lessen the risk of meconium aspiration. Such variable decelerations can often lead to a reduction of oxygen to the baby, resulting in hypoxia. It is generally felt that such variable decelerations of the baby’s heart rate occur as a result of the compression of the umbilical cord during the process of labor and delivery. Aspiration of meconium into the lungs can lead to a respiratory disease known as “Meconium Aspiration Syndrome.”ĭuring labor, the baby of a patient suffering from oligohydramnios may have what are known as “variable decelerations” of the heart rate. This places the baby at risk for aspirating meconium during the labor and delivery process. Late in pregnancy, oligohydramnios may also be associated with thick meconium in the amniotic fluid. It is generally recognized that the earlier in pregnancy that oligohydramnios occurs, the greater the risk to the well being of the baby. Post-term pregnancies, that is, pregnancies which are allowed to continue well past 40 weeks of gestation, are also strongly associated with the development of decreased levels of amniotic fluid or oligohydramnios.Ĭhronic leaking of amniotic fluid can also directly lead to oligohydramnios. In particular, when the baby does not grow normally, a condition known as Intrauterine Growth Restriction, there is a strong association with the development of oligohydramnios. Several fetal conditions are also strongly associated with the development of decreased amniotic fluid levels. In many cases, it has been recognized that partial placental abruptions, where the placenta partially separates from the uterus, can also result in decreased amniotic fluid levels or oligohydramnios. Similarly, poorly managed maternal diabetes and resultant uteroplacental insufficiency can directly lead to decreased amniotic fluid levels, or oligohydramnios, even early in the pregnancy. ![]() Poorly managed maternal hypertension, including the disease pre-eclampsia, can often result in uteroplacental insufficiency and decreased amniotic fluid levels. Decreased amniotic fluid levels during pregnancy, or oligohydramnios, is a condition which requires rigorous and careful monitoring and management by the responsible obstetrician.ĭecreased amniotic fluid levels, or oligohydramnios, is associated with a number of conditions, many of which are significant to the health and well being of both the mother and her baby. ![]()
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