Not your mother’s pregnancy: Shifts in pregnancy guidelines

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During pregnancy, many people seek and receive advice from their family members and friends. Much of this support is welcome and helpful, however, it’s important to make sure that the advice you are receiving is up to date with current medical guidelines. Here are some areas to be aware of: 

Bed rest

Many healthcare providers used to encourage women with multiples or complications like high blood pressure and premature labor to go on bed rest. Bed rest could mean anything from regular rest time at home to full-time monitoring in a hospital bed. The idea was that certain activities like, well, moving, might make these existing conditions worse.

As it turns out, there is no solid, scientific evidence that bed rest improves outcomes for pregnant women and their babies. If anything, bed rest can have harmful emotional, psychological, and financial effects on expecting moms. Some providers still float bed rest as an option. If you’re experiencing pregnancy complications and your provider suggests it, you might want to talk through some of the other treatment options as well.

Third trimester exercise

For years, healthcare providers have recommended that women in their third trimesters stick to low or moderate intensity exercise like yoga or tai chi, if they were going to exercise at all. The thinking was that the risks associated with high intensity exercise could do harm to a baby.

More recent research has determined that the benefits of exercise, even vigorous exercise, promote significant health benefits and help prevent comorbidities. When exercising during the third trimester, it’s important to prioritize safety in addition to wellness. Your bump will likely have affected your balance, so make sure to use a little more support than you might usually.

Noninvasive prenatal testing

And then there’s the emergence of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT). For many years, prenatal genetic testing options were limited to CVS and amniocentesis which both involve contact with either the placenta or the amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus.. NIPT is noninvasive because some pieces of your baby’s DNA from the placenta enter your bloodstream during pregnancy.

NIPT is a simple blood test that looks at a baby’s DNA in their mother’s blood to identify whether the baby is at increased risk of having a genetic disorder. Not only does NIPT itself pose no risk of miscarriage, it leads to 89% fewer invasive tests compared to traditional serum screening. NIPT is the most accurate prenatal aneuploidy screening test available. In fact, it has the highest detection rate of all currently available chromosomal screening tests. It can even tell you your baby’s sex as early as week 10!

When you get advice from friends and family members, it’s always a great idea to check with your healthcare provider. So many guidelines have changed over the years, and it’s your providers job to be up to date.

To learn more about NIPT, tap the link below.