For millions of women in the United States, 40 weeks of pregnancy usually progress without serious complications. For some, however, existing or new health issues with themselves or their unborn babies put them in the “high risk” category.
Chronic health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma can place an expectant mother in the high-risk group. Other causes, such as carrying more than one fetus, previous complicated pregnancy, birth defects, preterm labor, or developing a condition during pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes, also can warrant a high-risk classification.
