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pregnancy complications list

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Not just when I was a child, but honestly through my late twenties, I believed that pregnancy was the most seamless thing in the world. When adults spoke to me about pregnancy, they talked about it as if you could get pregnant by simply looking at someone the wrong way. When I’d see pregnant women, they seemed so calm and happy. Now I’m realizing that my experience and view of pregnancy was curated and controlled.

Of course adults needed me to believe that becoming pregnant was extremely easy—they didn’t want me to have sex, or at least unprotected sex. And of course I only saw pregnant women when they were happy and healthy—that was the only time they wanted to be out in public. I knew nothing of the complications, the pain, the mood swings, and the morning sickness. If I saw a pregnant woman—like a friend of my mom’s or a teacher—it’s because she was feeling well enough to see people and go about her life that day. But it didn’t mean it was because she always felt that well. Maybe it’s also a societal device—hiding the true horrors that can come with pregnancy and childbirth.

If every woman really knew what could go wrong during pregnancy, we’d probably all stop having kids. Or at least many of us. And as it stands, we’re slowing down on reproduction quite a bit anyways. But it is so important that women do know about the risks that can come with pregnancy and childbirth—and even the months after childbirth. We have a right to know. The older I get and the more friends I have who have kids, the more I learn that pregnancy can be frightening and life-threatening sometimes. And on that note, while all women can be at risk, black women are two to six times more likely to die due to pregnancy-complications. It’s not all baby showers and storks. Let’s take a look.

pregnancy complications list

Source: RuslanDashinsky / Getty

Gestational diabetes

Even a woman who is not diabetic before pregnancy can become a diabetic during pregnancy. Though this typically resolves itself after labor, it can still be quite dangerous during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes occurs when a woman’s body cannot produce the extra insulin needed to control blood sugar levels during pregnancy.

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