Low water during pregnancy: causes and consequences

Amniotic fluid plays an important role in the development of a baby - this is his first natural habitat. They also serve as a source of nutrients for the baby. Amniotic fluid protects the baby and affects its development. During the entire pregnancy, the volume of amniotic fluid should be a certain value. If their number falls below the norm, we can talk about lack of water.

Low water during pregnancy: causes

With an increase in the number of weeks of pregnancy, the volume of amniotic fluid in the uterus also increases. On average, this amount is approximately 1.5 liters. This is enough to ensure normal development and free movement of the baby. As the due date approaches, the volume of amniotic fluid may decrease slightly, the same phenomenon can be observed in the case of a post-term pregnancy.

Sometimes the amount of amniotic fluid may be less than normal. In this case, it is customary to talk about lack of water. Malnutrition is classified according to several criteria:

• Chronic oligohydramnios is characterized by the fact that it can only be determined by ultrasound. In this case, the woman feels relatively well.
• Acute oligohydramnios is diagnosed by external signs - the abdomen and uterus are reduced, the woman feels pain when the fetus moves, weakness appears and nausea, pain in the lower abdomen.
• Previously, oligohydramnios develops at about 20 weeks of gestation due to functional impairment.
• Later, oligohydramnios may occur after 26 weeks due to the presence of other diseases.
• Primary oligohydramnios is characterized by the preservation of the integrity of the fetal sac.
• With secondary oligohydramnios, the fetal sac ruptures, and the amniotic fluid gradually flows out.

There are enough reasons for the development of low water. But most often the occurrence of this ailment is associated with the following factors:

• The epithelium that protects the membrane of the amniotic fluid is damaged.
• Pathologies and developmental anomalies of the child, most often hereditary.
• Postterm pregnancy.
• The presence of bacterial infections in a woman's body.
• Hypertension.
• Metabolic and overweight problems.
• Multiple pregnancy.

The main reason for the occurrence of low water has not yet been fully elucidated.

Why amniotic fluid is needed

The value of the liquid in which the baby develops is very great. The amniotic fluid acts as a defense mechanism for the baby from environmental influences and squeezing by the muscles of the uterus. In case of danger, the amniotic fluid acts as a shock absorber for the child, smoothing out shocks and shocks. Of course, if the blows are too strong, the amniotic fluid can rupture, but weaker shocks will be successfully repelled.

Amniotic waters for a child are nutrition, protection, and the world around them. It contains all the necessary elements for the proper development and health of the fetus. It is a source of vitamins, protein and trace elements for the baby. In amniotic waters, the baby is in a sterile and comfortable environment, as the fluid is constantly being renewed.

During childbirth, the fetal bladder helps the cervix to open. Infections that can enter the uterus from the vagina and infect a child are not able to penetrate the membrane of the fetal bladder.

Amniotic fluid

The substance in which the fetus develops is formed mainly from the mother's plasma by filtration and excretion of cells that form the inner membrane of the fetal bladder. The child himself also takes an active part in the formation of amniotic fluid. The fact is that at a later date, the child already swallows amniotic fluid and urinates in them. Every day, the baby produces about 600 ml of urine, which is also part of the amniotic fluid.

At different stages of pregnancy, the amount of amniotic fluid is different. Amniotic fluid appears at about 8 weeks of gestation. Then there is a gradual increase in their number. By the tenth week, their volume is approximately 30 ml, gradually increasing. By the 38th week of pregnancy, normally, the amount of amniotic fluid should be from a liter to one and a half liters.

Before delivery, the volume of amniotic fluid is usually reduced to 800 ml. This is due to the increased excretion of fluid from the mother's body. During childbirth, the amniotic fluid and the placenta that emerged from the woman's uterus form together around 1800.

Consequences of low water during pregnancy

An insufficient volume of amniotic fluid can be dangerous for both mother and baby. The most severe consequences for the development of the baby can occur if there is oligohydramnios during pregnancy from 15 to 25 weeks. Low water at a similar time usually leads to severe anomalies in the formation of the child's internal organs. Usually these are pathologies in the development of the kidneys or the baby's face. At the same time, the kidneys are formed incorrectly, may be too enlarged or completely absent. In this case, the death of the child occurs immediately after birth.

The presence of oligohydramnios in the first or second trimester of pregnancy with such severe pathologies in the development of the fetus gives doctors a reason to recommend termination of pregnancy. Indeed, with such terrible pathologies, the child is probably not capable of life and will die on the first day after childbirth.

Low water can provoke an umbilical cord entanglement of the baby's neck, which can be dangerous during childbirth. The risk of infection of the baby in the womb also increases. With too much low water, adhesion of the baby's skin and the amniotic membrane can form. This usually occurs in the form of the formation of thin threads that entwine the baby and the umbilical cord and cause tissue necrosis. Splicing also affects the baby's blood circulation and the umbilical cord. It becomes the cause of the baby's hypoxia and, as a consequence, his death.

In childbirth, oligohydramnios is dangerous because there may be weak labor, trauma and internal tears. Due to lack of water, early placental abruption can occur and bleeding can begin. With oligohydramnios, proper dilation of the cervix does not occur, because the amniotic bladder does not wedge between the baby's head and the cervix and does not help its opening.

Low water during pregnancy 32 weeks

By the third trimester of pregnancy, the volume of amniotic fluid should reach 800-1500 ml. Every three days, the amniotic fluid is completely renewed, formed from the placenta and the walls of the amniotic fluid.

But sometimes, as a result of the last ultrasound, a diagnosis is made - oligohydramnios. At this time, the causes of oligohydramnios can be late gestosis, disorders of the woman's endocrine system, infection or hypertension. In addition, the amount of amniotic fluid may decrease due to leakage due to a violation of the integrity of the membranes of the fetus.

The analysis of the amniotic fluid index helps to assess the risk of oligohydramnios at this stage of pregnancy. This is done on the basis of an ultrasound scan. With a normal volume of amniotic fluid, this index ranges from 5 to 8, with moderate low water, the IAI will be from 2 to 5, and with severe low water, the IAI is less than 2.

During this period, lack of water is also dangerous for the mother and for the child. The baby may develop pathology of internal organs, curvature of the spine, fusion of the membranes with the skin of the child. For a woman, lack of water is dangerous during childbirth. It can cause painful and ineffective contractions and injuries to the cervix.

At a gestational age of 32 weeks, the treatment of oligohydramnios is carried out depending on the cause of the cause. For example, if a pregnant woman is leaking amniotic water, then a smear must be taken. Depending on the result of this study, a decision is made on further treatment. If there is intrauterine infection with a child's infection, then antiviral treatment is prescribed in conjunction with the intake of vitamin complexes. With any treatment, regular monitoring of the amniotic fluid index and the condition of the pregnant woman and the child is mandatory. The course of treatment is necessarily carried out in a hospitalization in a hospital.

Treatment of oligohydramnios

It is very important to identify oligohydramnios in time and carry out its correct treatment. This can greatly affect the development and health of the baby, and even save his life. Doctors decide how to treat this ailment after identifying the reasons that provoked it. Also, it is important for how long the oligohydramnios was detected, and the degree of its severity.

Diagnosis of oligohydramnios in the early stages, as well as the detection of malformations of the child that threaten his life, usually leads to the termination of pregnancy. If the aging of the placenta, that is, fetoplacental insufficiency, led to oligohydramnios, then treatment will be prescribed. Most often, doctors prescribe a course of Actovegin or Curantil. In this case, treatment can be carried out at home, without the obligatory hospitalization in a hospital.

If, against the background of oligohydramnios, the child develops hypoxia, then doctors usually perform an emergency operation. In this case, the woman undergoes a caesarean section to save the life of the baby, even if the pregnancy is premature.

With a full-term pregnancy and existing lack of water, the decision on further actions is made based on the condition of the child. If the fetus is feeling normal, then there is no need for treatment, a normal birth is carried out. But with oligohydramnios, labor very rarely begins spontaneously. As a rule, in order to provoke labor, the amniotic sac is pierced to a woman, because it does not contribute to the opening of the uterus. In very severe cases, when the child is entwined with the umbilical cord or if the baby is in the wrong position, a decision is made about a cesarean section. The indication for surgical intervention is also the serious condition of a woman or a child.

During treatment, the doctor constantly monitors the condition of the pregnant woman and the fetus using ultrasound, Doppler and CTG. This is done in order to take action in time if there is a threat to the life of the child or mother.

It is impossible to treat oligohydramnios with folk methods. Only action on the cause of lack of water is allowed. For example, if oligohydramnios was provoked by hypertension, then you can try to correct the pressure using folk methods. But oligohydramnios itself cannot be cured in this way.