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Problems with baby's kidneys or urinary tract, since low amniotic fluid levels could signal a baby might not be peeing as much as expected.More rarely, oligohydramnios is linked to: Low amniotic fluid can result from your water breaking, from a puncture in the amniotic sac after amniocentesis or from a spontaneous fluid leak at any point during pregnancy that’s so small it may go unnoticed.ġ0 Pregnancy-Related Complications Black Women Should Know About Fluid leaking from your vagina What causes low amniotic fluid during pregnancy?.A significant decrease in fetal activity.You have a decreased amount of amniotic fluid, which is detected via ultrasound.Your baby’s heart rate goes down for several seconds suddenly before returning to normal.You’re not gaining enough pregnancy weight.Your uterus measures smaller than anticipated for your baby's gestational age.If you have low amniotic fluid, your doctor may note: The main symptoms of low amniotic fluid aren't obvious to expecting moms - which is why it’s so important to make sure you hit all of your scheduled prenatal checkups. Symptoms of low amniotic fluid when you’re pregnant Sometimes, amniotic fluid levels can signal how well your baby’s urinary system is working, since a baby excretes urine into the amniotic fluid. It also keeps your baby’s body from compressing the umbilical cord against the uterine wall. Study co-authors were Rita Driggers, Karin Blakemore and Cynthia Holcroft.Throughout pregnancy, your amniotic fluid cushions your baby and allows him to grow and move. Babies born to moms with isolated low amniotic fluid were normal size and were at no increased risk of respiratory problems, immature intestines or brain disorders. Patients with oligohydramnios were delivered sooner, but were less likely to need Caesarian sections. The researchers studied 262 women (131 with oligohydramnios and 131 with normal amounts of amniotic fluid) who gave birth at The Johns Hopkins Hospital between November 1999 and July 2002, comparing the babies' health at birth. This study shows the fluid test is not as good as we thought, and there is most likely no reason to deliver the baby early if other tests are normal."
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"Amniotic fluid stems from the baby's urine, and the urine results from good blood flow, so if we see low fluid we assume there probably is not good blood flow and the fetus is compromised. Graham, M.D., senior author of the study and assistant professor of gynecology and obstetrics. "These study results are very surprising – they go against the conventional wisdom," says Ernest M. Normal amounts range from 5 to 25 centimeters any amount less than 5 centimeters is considered low. Amniotic fluid is measured by depth in centimeters. Typically, doctors have been concerned about women with low amniotic fluid during the third trimester – a condition called oligohydramnios – because too little fluid can be associated with incomplete development of the lungs, poor fetal growth and complications with delivery. No significant differences were found in the babies' birthweights, levels of acid in the umbilical cord blood, or lengths of stay in the hospital. 7 at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in San Francisco, researchers show that babies born under such conditions at 37 weeks' gestation fared similarly to those born to women whose wombs held normal amounts of amniotic fluid. Doctors may not have to deliver a baby early if it has low amniotic fluid surrounding it, Johns Hopkins obstetricians report.
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