Antenatal Care and Screening Flashcards
What is Hyperemesis Gravidarum ?
An extreme form of morning sickness which causes severe nausea and vomitting during pregnancy
By how many weeks should nausea and vomiting subsided ?
~16 weeks
During pregnancy cardiac output increases by how much ?
~30-50%
Why does blood pressure in the mother fall during the 2nd trimester ?
Expansion of the uteroplacental circulation.
A fall in systemic vascular resistance.
A reduction in blood viscosity.
A reduction in sensitivity to angiotensin.
By which trimester should the BP return to normal ?
3rd trimester
Why is the bladder capacity greatly reduced during pregnancy ?
Pressure in the pelvis due to expanding uterus
What occurs in the kidney during pregnancy with regards to the increased urine output ?
Renal plasma flow increases by 25-50%.
Glomerular Filtration Rate increases by 50%.
Serum urea & creatinine decrease.
Hydronephrosis is physiological in the 3rd trimester, true or false ?
True, increase in urinary stasis - pyelonephritis is more common.
Hydronephrosis is associated with pre-term labour, true or false ?
True
What causes anemia in pregnancy ?
Increase in RBC mass - ddrop in Hb.
Iron requirement increases by 1g.
When should iron supplements be given during pregnancy ?
If Hb is <110 or less than 100 on routine testing at 28 weeks
During pregnancy what happens to oesophageal peristalsis and gastric emptying ?
Peristalsis is reduced and therefore gastric emptying slows.
What causes the reduction in gastric motility ?
Increased progesterone
Decreased motilin
Progesterone acts centrally to reduce tidal volume . What will this increase ?
Resp. rate
Plasma pH
O2 consumption (by ~20%)
What is phenylketonuria (PKU) ?
an inborn error of protein metabolism which causes an inability to metabolism essential amino acid phenylalanine.
