Pregnancy and Chronic Illness: Your Guide to a Safe Healthy Journey

Having a happy, healthy pregnancy while living with a chronic illness is possible. It’s important that you know how to manage your condition while pregnant, so you can enter this new, exciting chapter feeling your best.

With AHN Women’s Health Institute at Forbes Hospital, our care team can help you stay on top of potential complications to help ensure a safe pregnancy and delivery.

We offer prenatal care for women with common high-risk pregnancy conditions including:

• Diabetes (or women diagnosed with diabetes during pregnancy).
• Hypertension (or women who have developed hypertension while pregnant).
• Autoimmune conditions, such as lupus.
• Asthma.

Making a treatment plan

Along with your OB-GYN, Forbes Hospital’s maternal fetal medicine specialists, or high-risk obstetricians, will work with you to develop a plan for you and your baby to stay healthy.

This might look like:

• Bringing together your care team – From the start, our doctors will work with your primary care provider (PCP) and specialists, such as your cardiologist or rheumatologist, to get the full picture of your health.
• Adjusting medications – You may need to switch to a pregnancy-safe medication or change your dosage. Thankfully, there are many medications safe to take during pregnancy. If you have diabetes, you may need to increase your insulin, which is common during pregnancy.
• At-home monitoring – If you have diabetes or hypertension, checking your blood sugar and blood pressure at home will be an important part of your pregnancy journey. This way, doctors can keep an eye on your numbers in between appointments.
• Scheduling additional ultrasounds – Some conditions may affect your baby’s growth, so your doctors will regularly measure the size of your developing baby.
• Connecting you with emotional support – If you’re having new emotions, we can match you with a therapist from AHN’s Women’s Behavioral Health. AHN’s doula program also has support in other languages to help with the emotional part of labor and delivery.

Pregnancy health risks

Pregnancy can be tough on your body, especially if you have a chronic illness. If you’re living with asthma or an autoimmune disease while pregnant, you may be more likely to have a flare-up.

Women with high blood pressure are also at higher risk for pre-eclampsia, a serious but treatable condition. Pre-eclampsia causes high blood pressure and protein in your urine. If you have pre-eclampsia, your doctor will want to see you twice a week until delivery. After your baby is born, they will continue monitoring your blood pressure.

Taking care of yourself after birth

After your baby is born, your little one will get a lot of attention – but AHN will still focus on your health. During your stay in the postpartum unit, doctors will regularly take your vitals and run tests, like checking blood sugar levels. Your doctors will work closely with you for six weeks after birth to make sure you’re in the best health possible to care for your new baby.

Planning for pregnancy?

If you’re thinking about having a baby, schedule a visit with an AHN Forbes Hospital OB-GYN. We can talk about any concerns you have, review your medical history, and adjust your medications if needed. No matter what your journey looks like, we’re here to help you feel confident and healthy entering this exciting new chapter.