Pregnant? Please read this

With a new city, a new job and a comfortable paycheck, Rashmi N*, 27, couldn’t wait to begin a new chapter in her life. Rashmi got married to 29-year-old Rahul Sriram*, who worked for a software company, a year after she moved to Bangalore. Soon, they planned their first child. However, there was a hiccup — Rashmi’s odd working hours — 9 pm to 6 am. It took a toll on her health.

“Women who have odd working hours run a high risk of miscarriage as their biological clocks go for a toss. They don’t eat healthy, their sleep pattern is odd and stress levels are very high,” says Dr Praveena Shenoy, consultant gynaecologist, Manipal Hospital, adding that an unsuccessful pregnancy among such women is not a given, but is more likely.
“20% of all such pregnancies result in miscarriages.”

Rashmi too, fell in this 20% bracket and lost her dreams to a miscarriage. “Even though going through a miscarriage can be traumatising and depressing, women shouldn’t lose heart as it doesn’t imply future failures,” says Dr Shenoy. With a little care, even with odd working hours, pregnant women can take care to have a healthy pregnancy. “Good sleep is very important, irrespective of work timings,” she says. As long as you get your eight hours of rejuvenating sleep, you needn’t worry.

“Even though one can do everything to stay healthy, a miscarriage cannot be avoided in the real sense as it is difficult to pinpoint a single cause for it,” says Dr Devika Gunasheela, infertility specialist, Gunasheela IVF Centre. She suggests that reducing stress, eating healthy, keeping obesity at bay and taking folic acid at least three months prior to conception is all that a woman can do to ensure a successful pregnancy.

Dr Gunasheela adds: “Most women fear the first scan of pregnancy, also called the dating scan—it determines the date of delivery. They feel that the scanning will be harmful for the baby. But, the dating scan is not an X-ray, it isn’t harmful to the foetus.” In fact, a dating scan helps doctors detect a defect, if any, at a later stage of pregnancy and cure it.

“Obstetricians ask for the first scan to check if the growth of the baby is normal. For instance, if, according to the dating scan, the baby should be 26 weeks old but the current scan (women have to undergo regular scans throughout their pregnancy) shows that it’s only 23 weeks old, the baby isn’t growing normally,” explains Dr Gunasheela. If the reason for the defect is brought to the surface at this point, it can be worked upon and a miscarriage can be avoided.

However, most of the times, the reason for a miscarriage remains unknown and it is difficult to foresee problems and, therefore, avoid them. “A miscarriage can be the result of a combination of several factors—pollution, stress, vitamin deficiencies, unhealthy lifestyles or chromosomal abnormalities among parents,” says Dr Leela Bhagwan, consultant gynaecologist, Cradle and Bangalore Hospital.

Suggesting a few tips, Dr Bhagwan says: “Nowadays, women tend to travel a lot even in the first few weeks of pregnancy—they shouldn’t. Cutting down on travel, carrying heavy weights, intercourse, etc, in the first few weeks can help.”

Also, women who suffer from Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (three out of five women suffer from PCOD today) run a greater risk of a miscarriage. “Women with PCOD need to be given supportive hormones during pregnancy. Over and above this, they should keep physically fit,” says Dr Bhagwan, adding that Metformin—a medicine given to diabetics—helps women with PCOD increase the chances of a successful pregnancy and reduce the risk of miscarriage. This will be administered by the physician if it is considered to be necessary.

Though it’s impossible to pinpoint a single cause for miscarriage, it’s best to stay on the safe side and not let the modern day stresses get you down, doctors say unanimously.
 
(*Names changed on request)