Medical problems arising in pregnancy

1. Big picture

Medical problems arising in pregnancy are non-obstetric diseases or systemic complications that appear for the first time during pregnancy, are unmasked by pregnancy, or are made clinically important because pregnancy reduces maternal physiological reserve.

The examiner wants you to think like this:

Pregnant patient with medical symptom
        ↓
Stabilize mother first
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Confirm gestational age and fetal viability
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Separate physiological pregnancy change from pathology
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Choose pregnancy-safe investigations
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Treat the maternal disease properly
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Assess fetal effect and plan delivery if needed

The key oral-exam sentence:

The mother is the best fetal resuscitation. In any serious medical problem during pregnancy, stabilize the mother first, then assess the fetus.

This topic overlaps with many later obstetric topics, so the aim here is to know the clinical approach, the danger patterns, and the common medical problems that may arise during pregnancy.

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