Women wind up in the high-risk pregnancy category for a number of reasons. Maybe you are 35 or older, making you a so-called elderly mother going through a geriatric pregnancy. Perhaps you are Rh negative, and your partner is Rh positive, leading to the potential for Rh incompatibility, especially if you’ve already had a child with a positive Rh factor.
Perhaps you have already developed preeclampsia or gestational diabetes, or you could have a pre-existing medical condition that puts you at higher risk for complications. Once your OB-GYN identifies you as a potentially high-risk pregnancy, they should take extra steps to ensure that both you and your unborn child are safe.
Failing to adequately monitor mothers and babies during high-risk pregnancies can result in injuries to both mother and child, as well as preventable negative outcomes.
Monitoring you require depends on the circumstances
Different medical conditions and issues demand different forms of intervention and monitoring. People with concerns such as gestational diabetes or elevated blood pressure could benefit from weekly physician visits or nursing visits. Even telemedicine visits could be an opportunity for a doctor to check up on a patient and their unborn baby.
In cases with extremely high-risk where the mother has been ordered to bed rest, a fetal monitor may be necessary. Other times, blood tests or imaging tests play a critical role in caring for both the mother and the unborn baby. The greater the potential risk for complications, the more important it is for the physician to be proactive in how they monitor and care for their patients. If a physician notices signs of a complication or issue early enough, they can intervene and prevent negative outcomes.
Your physician keeps records, which means you should, too
Medical records help a doctor determine the best kind of care for a patient. They can also serve as a means for a physician to avoid responsibility for their mistakes. Failing to include certain details, such as a patient reporting specific symptoms, could make it harder for a patient to bring claims in the future.
Keeping a journal of what issues you address at each appointment and how your physician responds to you, particularly in the event that they ignore you, can help you prove that your physician failed to monitor you or take your concerns seriously if you later develop complications due to that lack of care.