Introduction

During pregnancy, there are a wide range of health problems and complications that women could experience. To a large extent, the said complications and health problems could have a negative effect/impact on the health of the mother, that of the unborn baby, or both the health of the mother and that of the baby. This text will concern itself with some of the more common complications of pregnancy. The complications that will be addressed in this context are inclusive of; bleeding disorders, hypertension, psychological disorders, abruption, and cervical insufficiency. As will be indicated elsewhere in this text, pregnancy complications happen to be rather prevalent. This particular topic was selected owing to the need to develop better understanding of the various problems that could impact the health of the mother or/and the unborn child. Following this understanding, the relevant strategies can be embraced to ensure that the health of the mother and the unborn child are secured and/or further promoted.

Discussion

Part A

From the onset, it would be prudent to note that as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC (2020) points out, pregnancy complications is an all-inclusive term for the various health concerns that could crop up during the term of the pregnancy. As it had been indicated in the introductory section, CDC (2020) is categorical that the said complications could affect not only the health and wellbeing of the mother, but also that of the child. In as far as the prevalence of pregnancy complications in the US are concerned, available data indicates that complications during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period ranked as the 6th greatest cause of death among women aged 20 to 34 in the United States (Collier and Molina, 2019). Thus, there is a clear indication as to the need to reign in this particular health concern/issue.

a) Hypertension

To begin with, one of the more common pregnancy complications happens to be hypertension. It is important to note that according to the CDC (2019), there are various categories of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. These have been highlighted as gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia (CDC, 2019). To begin with, gestational hypertension happens to be hypertension that a woman develops in the course of the pregnancy. On the other hand, preeclampsia could be defined as high blood pressure and signs of problems with the kidneys, liver, and other organs (CDC, 2019). Lastly, when a pregnant woman presents with seizures and preeclampsia and does not report other health complications or issues (i.e. epilepsy), then eclampsia could be diagnosed (CDC, 2019). It would also be prudent to note that a pregnant woman could have diagnosed with hypertension before the acquisition of the pregnancy. In this particular case, the said high blood pressure is referred to as chronic hypertension.

There are a number of problems that hypertension during pregnancy could trigger. For instance, it could have a negative impact on the development of the placenta effectively meaning that the baby would be denied ifs fair share of oxygen supply (Braunthal and Brateanu, 2019). This could result in abruption (which will be independently discussed elsewhere in this text), low birth weight, as well as early delivery. However, it should be noted that to a large extent, the kinds of hypertension highlighted above tend to affect the body differently. Their severity also varies. According to the CDC (2019), the rates of hypertension during pregnancy have been on an upward trajectory over the last few decades. This is a clear indication that more needs to be done to reign in the trend. According to Braunthal and Brateanu (2019), those who happen...

d) Psychological Implications

Progress in efforts to address some of the pregnancy complications highlighted above could have a direct impact on the psychological health and wellbeing of mothers. This is more so the case given that the complications do affect the mental and emotional wellbeing of women. For instance, as has been indicated elsewhere in this text, abruption could result in still birth or premature birth, and stunted/stifled growth as a consequence of lack of sufficient nutrients. The loss of a child could be a difficult thing to bear for the parent. Further, the transition to parenthood is also associated with a great level of anxiety. As a matter of fact, McLeish and Redshaw (2017) are categorical that more than 9% of pregnant mothers do present with symptoms consistent with anxiety and/or depression at some point during their pregnancy. In this case, the authors are of the opinion that womens emotional wellbeing is more at risk if they have little social support, a low income, are single parents or have a poor relationship with their partner (McLeish and Redshaw, 2017, p. 113).

Conclusion

In the final analysis, this text has indicated that there are indeed a wide range of complications that women could encounter during their pregnancy. It has also clearly demonstrated that the said complications could have a significant impact on the wellbeing of the mother as well as that of the unborn child. Towards this end, several suggestions have been made with regard to how the government could intervene to ensure the health and wellbeing of prenant women. The importance of social support for pregnant women has also been restated and so has the need for practitioners to be aware of the religious needs of their clients. The relevance of ethical…