In a lower-risk pregnancy the literature explains and promotes coping techniques for situations and discomforts that are likely to be encountered throughout the nine month term. There is also cultural support of an anecdotal nature in our films, television shows and literature, all reassuring woman that what they are experiencing is universal and therefore normal. This constant societal reassurance promotes a sense of union, albeit unspoken, with other women and with other people who are interested in, or have an understanding of the pregnancy experience.

In a higher-risk pregnancy the whole structure of traditional support is removed.

This whole sense of union and understanding promotes a sense of empowerment and coping for the pregnant woman; she has common sense and common knowledge of pregnancy. Her healthcare giver, who may or may not be a physician, acknowledges this and treats her accordingly, dealing primarily with the issues at hand, and always promoting a positive outcome for her and her baby. This further enhances the woman’s self-esteem and increases her ability to cope with the discomforts and decisions as they present themselves.

In a higher-risk pregnancy the whole structure of traditional support is removed. The caregiver is not only a physician but most likely also a specialist in higher-risk pregnancy. The physician, knowing that the patients likely do not have a knowledge base regarding complications of pregnancy will act accordingly and offer them substantial amounts of information. This information will mostly be drawn from a professional resource base and its language and content will reflect this. In order to make full use of this information the patients will need to develop a deeper education regarding that specialty. There will be more opportunities for her to make decisions that affect herself as well as her partner and her baby.

Our culture does not have an organized, and empowering, higher-risk pregnancy, information database from which to draw our conclusions. Since people require a reflective source of history to confirm our belief in our ability to cope, it is incumbent upon the childbirth educator to collect histories with a variety of outcomes, and to provide them to the clients as a source of support. The more commonly an experience is shared the more normalized it is allowed to become. By identifying and objectifying what a high-risk pregnancy is comprised of, we are able to demystify its aspects and develop the means to cope and succeed. We will name the beast so to speak and in doing so empower ourselves to be an active participant in the pregnancy/childbirth process.

So What Constitutes A Higher-Risk Pregnancy?

There are two basic factors that influence the risk-factor for pregnancy: the mother and the baby.

Maternal risks include: pre-existing medical condition, age, socio-economic status, work environment, home situation, recreational habits, vices, multiple fetuses, previous pregnancy outcomes and access to medical care. Fetal risks include: genetic defect, structural anomaly, size and number of fetuses.

Management of a higher-risk pregnancy may involve increased medical attention in the form of office visits to monitor well-being, ultrasound, genetic testing (optional), fetal cardiac echo, blood testing, drug therapy, work restriction, bed rest and hospitalization.

- Virginia Collins