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Planning a High Risk Pregnancy

A Pregnancy Plan

By Kendeyl Johansen

Like countless other women, Jennifer Reno wanted a baby. Unfortunately, Reno of Howell, Mich., suffers from chronic high blood pressure, high cholesterol and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which can cause infertility. Prior to trying to conceive she contacted an infertility specialist and a perinatologist (an obstetrician specializing in the treatment of patients with high-risk pregnancies). The doctors developed a pregnancy plan that was safe for both Reno and her baby-to-be.

"Women with a serious medical condition need to be seen before pregnancy by a high risk pregnancy specialist," says Dr. Khalil Tabsh, medical director of the Perinatal Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center. "A specialist can determine the effect pregnancy will have on the medical condition and the effect the medical condition will have on the baby." Pregnancy can worsen some diseases, improve others or have no effect.

"It's important to get a woman's medical condition under good control prior to pregnancy, and to determine if any medications will be detrimental to the baby. If the medications are of concern to the baby, they will need to be switched to something safe," says Tabsh. "Everyone should be eating healthy and taking vitamins, whether pregnant or not, and all women planning a pregnancy should take folic acid."

At age 31, Jill FitzSimmons of Montana is pregnant with her third even though she's been on treatment for epilepsy since age 17. "There was no question my husband and I wouldn't have a baby," she says. "We wanted a family very badly, but because of my medication we had to look at timing." At one time, her medication was shown to have a higher incidence of birth defects than other similar medications. "To become pregnant at that time wouldn't have been possible because I couldn't justify playing with another person's life like that -- taking a chance with someone's life just so I could be a mother."

Want to see more?

• Making Sense of PCOS: Answers to Common Questions
• In the Genes:Testing for Genetic Disorders
• PCOS: A Woman's Guide to Dealing With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
• Talk about it!