Pregnancy

Mild or well-controlled asthma will usually cause no major health problems for a pregnant woman or her unborn baby. Poorly controlled asthma can have consequences for mothers and babies, though. Women can find out what they can do to protect themselves and their baby in our fact sheet.

An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) is used to measure how well the body can process a larger amount of sugar. If the blood sugar measured in the test passes a certain level, this can mean that sugar is not being absorbed enough by the body’s cells. This could then mean that you have diabetes mellitus or gestational diabetes.

In Germany there are not very many pregnant women infected with HIV. But it does happen that a woman does not realize that she is a carrier of the virus. If a woman finds out about her infection in time, the child can almost always be protected. Our fact sheet tells you whether you or your child can be infected with HIV during the pregnancy, what you can do for your child if it becomes necessary, and who may find out about HIV test results.

Babies who are born far too soon are not completely ready for life outside the uterus (womb), and so they face quite a lot of risks. While sometimes there is no warning and a baby is born very suddenly, often there is at least a bit of time before the baby is actually born. That means there are some things that can be done then to help your baby have a better chance of survival once he or she is born.

“You have gestational diabetes!” – this diagnosis often comes as a surprise for expecting mothers. That is because usually there are no noticeable symptoms. But it does mean an increase in the risk of certain rare complications during birth. We explain what consequences gestational diabetes can have, how it can be diagnosed and what women can do about high blood sugar levels.

Our fact sheet offers answers to questions that many pregnant women ask themselves: How much weight gain is normal? Can putting on a lot of weight be a problem? Can I prevent stretch marks if I keep my weight under control? You can also test your knowledge of weight-related issues in our quiz.