Saturday, February, 11, 2012

Polyhydramnios

Table of Contents

Home Care


Call your health care provider if


What to expect at your health care provider's office

This condition is discovered during pregnancy. You may have noticed that your belly is getting large very quickly. You doctor or nurse measures the size of your uterus at every visit.

If your uterus is growing faster than expected, or it is larger than normal for your baby's gestational age, the doctor or nurse may:

  • Have you come back sooner than normal to re-measure
  • Perform an ultrasound

If the health care provider finds a fetal abnormality (birth defect), you may need an amniocentesis to test for a genetic defect.

Women with polyhydramnios are also more likely to go into labor early. Mild polyhydramnios that shows up in the later part of pregnancy does not often cause serious problems. More severe polyhydramnios may be treated with medications or by having extra fluid removed.

The baby will be delivered in a hospital with specialists who can provide immediate evaluation and treatment.



Review Date: 11/02/2009
Reviewed By: Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)