CARDIOVASCULAR
This increases in pregnancy by 10-20 beats per minute.
What is heart rate?
The consumption of this important element is increased by 20% in pregnancy.
What is oxygen.
This component of blood increases by 50%, starting at 8 weeks, complete by 34weeks.
What is plasma.
An increased glomerular filtration rate of 50% leads to a fall in serum measurements of these two common tests.
What are Creatinine and Urea.
In normal pregnancy, fasting levels are decreased and post prandial levels are increased.
What is blood glucose level.
This increases by 40% in pregnancy, predominantly by an increase in stroke volume and heart rate.
What is cardiac output?
A mild change in pH due to increased CO2 excretion.
What is respiratory alkalosis.
There is a 2-3x increase in the requirement of this element in pregnancy due to the increased blood volume, fetal requirements and incorporation into enzymes.
What is Iron.
Liver
Increase in this liver enzyme is due to placental production.
What is alkaline phosphatase.
Largely due to anti-insulin hormones from the placenta, this decreases with increasing gestation after 1st trimester. Also the name of a common test performed at 26-28weeks.
What is Glucose tolerance.
This vital sign decreases by 10-15 in the 1st and 2nd trimester, increasing during the 3rd trimester.
What is Blood Pressure
Increased minute ventilation is due to an increase in this volume by 30-40%.
What is tidal volume.
This phenomenon is seen in pregnancy due to the red cell production increase being less than the plasma volume increase.
Dilutional anaemia
Sodium and water
This type of immunity is facilitated by T helper cells and is mildly decreased in pregnancy to prevent rejection of the fetus.
What is cell-mediated immunity.
This peripheral change leads to a fall in systemic vascular resistance.
What is peripheral vasodilation
Diaphragmatic splinting due to an expanding uterus leads to decreased ________ capacity.
What is functional residual capacity
It is predominantly these 4 clotting factors that increase up to 50% in pregnancy.
What are factor VIII, IX, X and Fibrinogen.
It is greater on the right than on the left and is due to progesterone and extrinsic compression of the uterus.
What is hydronephrosis.
Resistance to this peptide hormone facilitates glucose availability to the fetus, with doubling of production from 1st trimester to 3rd trimester.
What is insulin.
This variable is increased by an increase in cardiac ventricular wall muscle mass and end diastolic volume.
What is stroke volume.
A common complaint in pregnancy that causes diagnostic confusion and is likely due to an increased awareness of the physiological hyperventilation of pregnancy.
What is breathlessness.
Anti-thrombin and Protein S are examples of these endogenous proteins that are decreased in pregnancy.
What are endogenous anticoagulants.
Renal
From early pregnancy it is increased, by 2nd trimester 60-80% above pre-pregnancy levels. It falls through 3rd trimester to 50% above pre-pregnancy levels.
What is renal plasma flow.
Due to the breakdown of triglycerides in pregnancy during starvation, pregnant women are at increased risk of this.
What is ketoacidosis.