What to do if pregnant women have low amniotic fluid? Symptoms of low amniotic fluid

If a pregnant mother finds symptoms of low amniotic fluid during pregnancy, or is told that she has low amniotic fluid during a prenatal check-up in the hospital, after ruling out the possibility of fetal malformation, she can increase the amniotic fluid through medical methods and changes in lifestyle habits.

What to do if pregnant woman has little amniotic fluid

During pregnancy, if the diagnosis of fetal malformation is clear, the pregnancy needs to be terminated immediately. If there is no fetal malformation, medical and home methods can be used to increase amniotic fluid. Let's take a look at how to do it.

Home remedies can be used if the fetus is confirmed to be non-malformed and does not require medical treatment. The specific methods are as follows:

1. Drink plenty of water

Drink more water! Drink more water! Drink more water! It is important to say it three times. A simple way to increase amniotic fluid is to drink more water. This is because the body has sufficient water, and the amniotic fluid will increase accordingly. It is recommended that pregnant mothers drink 8-10 glasses of water every day, and can also drink more soy milk or nutritious soups, such as kelp soup, chicken soup, etc., to replenish the body's water content.

2. Eat fruits and vegetables with high water content

Eat fruits and vegetables with high water content to increase body water, thereby increasing amniotic fluid. Fruits and vegetables with high water content can not only keep the body hydrated, but also provide relatively rich nutrition. Fruits and vegetables suitable for replenishing water include:

Vegetables: Cucumbers, lettuce, celery, radishes, bell peppers, cauliflower, spinach, broccoli, and baby carrots.

Fruits: watermelon, tomato, star fruit, strawberry, grapefruit, cantaloupe.

3. Stay away from alcohol

Alcohol can cause dehydration of the body, reduce amniotic fluid, and is harmful to the health of the fetus. Pregnant women should stay away from alcohol.

4. Exercise regularly

Appropriate amount of exercise can help promote blood circulation and increase the amount of amniotic fluid to a certain extent. For pregnant women, you can choose the following exercises: such as swimming, walking after meals, and prenatal yoga.

5. Sleep on your left side

Lying on the left side can make the blood flow more smoothly in the uterine blood vessels, and the fetal blood will also flow at a normal rate, which may increase the amniotic fluid index.

6. Stop taking medication

For pregnant women, most drugs cannot be taken, especially indomethacin, which can cause the circulation of the uterus and placenta to decrease and reduce amniotic fluid.

7. Keep a happy mood

Pregnant women with too little amniotic fluid may be under great psychological pressure. It is recommended that expectant fathers give more psychological comfort and care to help pregnant women eliminate psychological worries, maintain a happy mood and actively participate in treatment and self-care.

Symptoms of low amniotic fluid

1. Abnormal fetal movement

If pregnant women find that the fetal movement is frequent and strong, then they should pay attention to it, which may not be normal fetal movement. If the fetal movement is accompanied by abdominal pain, it is likely caused by too little amniotic fluid.

On the contrary, if the fetal movement decreases sharply and is much less than usual, it is very likely that the placenta is functioning poorly. Placental function declines can also lead to too little amniotic fluid, so you must pay attention to it.

2. Uterine contractions

If a pregnant woman has less amniotic fluid, her uterus will become very sensitive, and even a slight stimulation will trigger uterine contractions. So if a pregnant woman is prone to uterine contractions, you should consider whether it is due to less amniotic fluid.

3. The uterus tightly wraps the fetus

Pregnant women will have prenatal check-ups every month. If the pregnant woman's abdominal circumference and uterine height are found to be smaller than those of other pregnant women of the same period, and the fetal movement is obviously restricted, indicating that the uterus is tightly wrapping the fetus, then this situation is most likely due to the pregnant woman having less amniotic fluid.

4. Abnormal vaginal examination

During a vaginal examination of a pregnant woman, if the anterior amniotic sac is not obvious, the fetal membrane is close to the presenting part of the fetus, and very little amniotic fluid flows out during artificial rupture of the membranes, then it is most likely caused by low amniotic fluid.

5. Abnormal amniotic fluid

In the late pregnancy, if the amniotic fluid is observed to be viscous, turbid, and dark green, it must be due to the lack of amniotic fluid.

What is the effect of low amniotic fluid on the fetus

1. Fetal malformation

The fetus lives in an environment of amniotic fluid. If there is too little amniotic fluid, the fetus will adhere to the fetal membrane, causing facial deformities in the fetus. This situation is most common in early pregnancy.

In the second and third trimesters, the amount of amniotic fluid is too little, and it loses its buffering effect. As the uterus becomes larger and larger, the pressure of the uterus will directly act on the fetus, causing the fetus's hands and feet to have incorrect postures, causing fetal torticollis, kyphosis, macrognathia, and leading to serious deformities in all parts of the fetus' body.

2. Affect fetal lung development

Amniotic fluid has a great influence on the development of the fetal lungs. Only when there is enough amniotic fluid can the fetal lungs mature slowly. If the amniotic fluid is always insufficient, it will cause the fetal lungs to be underdeveloped, and the fetus is very likely to suffer from respiratory distress syndrome after birth.

3. Lack of oxygen causes fetal asphyxia

During the delivery period, if the amniotic fluid continues to decrease, the umbilical cord of the fetus will be compressed during uterine contractions, which can easily lead to fetal hypoxia and suffocation. Therefore, some fetuses die directly without breathing at birth. This is not an exaggeration, it is true.

Amnioinstillation

When the amount of amniotic fluid in a pregnant woman is abnormally low, it may lead to stillbirth due to lack of oxygen. In order to save the life of the fetus, you can try to use amnioinfusion to directly increase the amount of amniotic fluid. Amnioinfusion therapy is to inject an appropriate amount of normal saline into the amniotic cavity through the abdomen with a puncture needle under the guidance of B-ultrasound to improve the condition of too little amniotic fluid. This is a safe, economical and effective method, but multiple amniotic infusions have complications such as chorioamnionitis, so treatment must be carried out under the guidance of a doctor.