Your healthcare provider will monitor you closely and work with you to determine the safest treatment plan. Try to remain calm, though - most people who are diagnosed with low amniotic fluid go on to have healthy babies. It can cause complications with your pregnancy and affect your baby’s growth. Low amniotic fluid or oligohydramnios is a potentially serious condition. Leaking large amounts of amniotic fluid from your vagina.When should I see my healthcare provider?Ĭall your healthcare provider if you experience any of the following: What is low amniotic fluid Low amniotic fluid means that there is too little fluid around your baby in the uterus during pregnancy. Talk to your healthcare provider about increasing your water intake as a treatment for oligohydramnios.
Some studies show that drinking water can help increase amniotic fluid levels in people who are pregnant. Increased risk for infection if your water has broken too early.Ĭan drinking water increase amniotic fluid?.Respiratory issues or underdeveloped lungs.If you’re diagnosed with oligohydramnios in the last trimester (weeks 28 to 40) of pregnancy, complications could include: Oligohydramnios, the medical term for having too little amniotic fluid in the womb, occurs in approximately 8 of pregnancies and is most common during the third trimester. Infection if your water has broken early. Low levels of amniotic fluid can lead to pregnancy complications and birth injuries, including: miscarriage, pre-term labor, birth defects, brain trauma, and cord compression.Deformities caused by being compressed in the womb.Low amniotic fluid in the first six months of pregnancy is generally more dangerous. What are the complications of oligohydramnios? You’re also at an increased risk for low amniotic fluid if you’ve had low amniotic fluid in prior pregnancies. However, your healthcare provider may suspect it if: You may not know you have low amniotic fluid. What are the signs of low amniotic fluid? Going more than two weeks past your due date.Congenital anomalies that affect your baby’s kidneys or urinary tract.Several factors can contribute to low amniotic fluid, such as: What is the most common cause of oligohydramnios? After that, your levels of amniotic fluid start decreasing.
The amount of amniotic fluid you produce increases until its peak at 36 weeks of pregnancy. You begin making amniotic fluid about 12 days after conception. It depends on how many weeks pregnant you are. How much amniotic fluid do I have during pregnancy? This rate rises to about 12% in people who are past their due date because amniotic fluid levels decrease after 40 weeks of pregnancy. It’s most common in the last three months of pregnancy. Low amniotic fluid affects about 4% of people who are pregnant. These conditions could affect your baby’s development or cause complications during labor and delivery. Too little amniotic fluid can cause health problems in your baby or be a sign of an underlying condition. Amniotic fluid also helps develop your baby’s digestive and respiratory system, as well as regulates their temperature. It protects your baby from infection and umbilical cord compression and cushions their movements while they’re in the womb. Amniotic fluid is a water-like fluid that surrounds your baby in your uterus. This liquid environment is your baby’s home for several months, and serves many purposes.Oligohydramnios occurs during pregnancy when your amniotic fluid is lower than expected for your baby’s gestational age. The membrane will break either on its own or with assistance when you give birth to your baby. It will then gradually diminish to 700-800 ml until delivery. By term (around 37 weeks) it should read about 1 litre (1000 ml) of liquid. The quantity of the amniotic fluid will vary from one woman to another, but it should increase as the pregnancy progresses. This membrane originates at the edges of the placenta and will contain both the baby and fluids. The membranes, commonly called the amniotic sac, plays an essential role during pregnancy. How could their limbs grow if they couldn’t move? Rather than a baby, it would be a lump of skin! Imagine how your baby would develop if it weren’t surrounded by water.