Gestational Diabetes:

Gestational Diabetes develops during pregnancy, when a woman’s body is not making enough insulin. Develops usually in second trimester. Cannot be treated by pills. Most treatment is through diet or insulin.

 

Problems with the placenta:

Placenta is the organ that provides nourishment for the growing baby. The placenta normally attaches to the inside of the womb and its normally attached relatively close to the surface, so that actually when the baby’s born the placenta can detach relatively easily. A low lying placenta, can have different degrees of severity. If it’s near the neck of the womb, it can block the baby’s way out. When placenta is low in the womb, there is a higher chance of bleeding during pregnancy or during childbirth. Retained placenta is a condition in which some, or all, of the placenta remains in the womb after birth. This can lead to bleeding or infection later on. So the placenta normally attaches to the inside of the womb and its normally attached relatively close to the surface, so that actually when the baby’s born the placenta can detach relatively easily.And women with complications related to placenta are most likely to need delivery by Cesarean Section.
Blood Clots (Pulmonary embolism, PE or Deep Vein Thrombosis, DVT):
Blood clots in the legs or lungs are a leading cause of illness associated with pregnancy and birth and can be life-threatening. In some women during pregnancy the blood becomes slightly thicker and can lead to clots. If the clots occur in leg (called deep vein clots), they can be detected and treated but this can become even more severe, if part of that blood clot breaks off, because it then lodges in the lungs and that can mean that it can lead to severe breathing problems.

 

Sepsis:

Sepsis is related to a severe infection that can develop before or after the baby has been delivered. Infections can be more severe in pregnancy, and after delivery women may be at particular risk of infection of the womb or birth canal (genital tract infections). Septicemia is when the bacteria enter the blood stream and travels to different organs. These infections can develop very quickly, or take several days or weeks to build up. Women need to be treated with antibiotics and, in some cases, may need to be admitted to an ICU.

 

Amniotic fluid related embolism:

Amniotic fluid is the liquid in which the baby floats in the womb. Amniotic fluid embolism is a very rare complication of pregnancy in which amniotic fluid, fetal skin or other cells enter the woman’s blood stream during delivery and trigger an allergic reaction. Women with this condition may collapse suddenly during the birth of their baby and it often proves fatal for the mother.

 

Haemorrhage (heavy bleeding or blood loss):

A haemorrhage is heavy uncontrolled bleeding either during or after the delivery of a baby. Most women have a small amount of bleeding after they’ve given birth and this is entirely normal. However, this can become very much worse due to various conditions. So it can be that the womb failed to contract down properly after the woman has given birth.

Haemorrhage can have several causes including:
⦁ an unresponsive uterus (where the womb does not contract naturally)
⦁ damage to the womb
⦁ when the placenta is not delivered after the birth
⦁ Problems with the placenta
In some cases, if the bleeding cannot be stopped, the womb has to be removed to save the mother’s life. Some women can lose high volume of blood and obviously that means that they have to have emergency treatment, such as blood transfusion, obviously to save their lives.