It is quite common for the women to have vaginal discharges in pregnancy. This is one of the many pregnancy complications that a woman encounters and has to face the same with courage and determination. Pregnancy is a very delicate period and every step shall be taken with due caution. Whether it is diet, general hygiene, prevention against diseases and trauma, exercises, medications, moral support of family members, timely and regular check-ups and other things, all shall be duly paid attention to. Even the choice of doctor has to be done very carefully. The past history of successful cases and the number of years past experience is important to know.

If the discharge is similar to or a little more than the one you used to experience before pregnancy, then there is nothing to worry about. During the early stages of pregnancy, these types of discharges of white fluids shall not bother you though it is better to keep the doctor informed of these. It is important to take note of the color (white, brown or red) and smell of fluid discharged (foul smelling or odorless) as well. These discharges are usually due to some urinary tract infection or yeast infection.

However, one shall carefully note whether vaginal bleeding is occurring as well. If bleeding does happen in any stage of pregnancy, then it is not a good sign and doctor shall be consulted immediately. In the later stages of pregnancy as well, the vaginal discharges shall be taken seriously. The unstoppable discharges could be of amniotic fluids in which the fetus develops in the uterus and is, therefore, a potentially dangerous situation for the baby. Doctor’s advice shall be taken immediately.

Vaginal discharges can also be due to wrong position of fetus development i.e. fetus development in fallopian tube rather than uterus. Or, these could also be due to some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Whatever may be the reason, keep the doctor informed and in case doctor calls for check up, it shall not be delayed at all. It is strictly not recommended that you waste time in seeking advice from others or take over-the-counter medications.

Some of the discharge situation may warrant immediate surgery, usually within 24 hours and you shall be mentally prepared to meet the situation. If this situation arises in the seventh or eighth month, you might be close to delivering a premature but otherwise healthy baby. If it happens early, then the development of fetus is not complete and can be a problem situation.

When the first ‘test-tube’ baby was born, it was widely hailed as a ray of for the people who have fertility issues which prevent them from having babies. The technique, called the In Vitro Fertility (IVF), has come a long way from that date. This is used when all methods to achieve pregnancy have failed. Infertility issues could be related to both females (like fallopian tube problems) and males (like poor sperm quality which is not able to penetrate the eggs).

This involves taking out the eggs from the ovaries of women and combining the sperm and eggs in the laboratory. When the egg gets fertilized, it is put back into the uterus of the woman. This is most commonly used technique in cases involving female infertility. If the males are infertile, then the sperm of the partner or the donor is directly injected into the eggs. Before doing the IVF procedures to make a woman pregnant, the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is done to make sure that there are no genetic disorders. Another important aspect of IVF pregnancy is that the womb of the female shall be healthy to host the pregnancy. If that is not possible with the mother of the child, then the fertilization can take place in the womb of another woman. This is called surrogate pregnancy and the mother is called a surrogate mother.

The success rates of IVF pregnancy could be misleading. Some statistics might be based on only the positive pregnancy tests reports. Some others might be showing the ‘viable pregnancy’ rates which refer to the detection of heart beat of the child in the womb. Still, some other might be referring to the ‘live birth’ rates. But, there is no doubt that the success rates of these procedures have improved over the years.

One major IVF pregnancy complication is the possibility of multiple child births. There are also the issues pertaining to child birth defects. Apart from these, this procedure has been criticized on ethical grounds. Some countries have banned the use of IVF for HIV positive people. This has also faced criticism from a number of religious bodies and spiritual leaders on comparing this with man’s efforts to play ‘god’. Naturalists oppose this as being against the nature and compare it with the opening of Pandora’s Box with unforeseen problems for the mankind.

Whatever be the criticism, this technique offers a ray of hope for the couples wishing to have a baby of their own.