However, women with moderately high blood pressure often need to continue taking their antihypertensive medication. Your health care provider may switch you to a safer antihypertensive medication during pregnancy. Kidney function tests and ultrasounds are usually performed regularly on pregnant women with moderately high blood pressure to monitor the mother s health and fetal growth and development. Even a simple urinary tract infection, which is common during pregnancy, should be treated immediately. An infection that goes untreated can lead to premature labor and rupture of the membranes surrounding the fetus.
Toxoplasmosis can cause a serious illness in, or death, of the fetus.
A pregnant woman can reduce her risk of infection by avoiding all potential sources of the infection. A blood test before or during pregnancy can determine if a woman has been exposed to the toxoplasma gondii parasite. Food poisoning can dehydrate a mother and deprive the fetus of nourishment. In addition, food poisoning can cause meningitis and pneumonia in a fetus, resulting in possible death. Genital herpes can be spread to the baby during delivery, if a woman has an active infection at that time.