What should I do if the amniotic fluid is too low when the due date comes?

When a pregnant woman reaches her due date, a decrease in amniotic fluid is generally a normal phenomenon. If you are worried at this time, you should have a check-up in time. If the fetal heart rate is abnormal during the examination, you can perform a caesarean section in time. If there is too little amniotic fluid, it will be particularly harmful to the fetus and may even cause fetal death. As a pregnant mother, you must pay attention to this aspect.

What should I do if the amniotic fluid is low when the due date comes?

It is normal for the amount of amniotic fluid to decrease 2 to 4 weeks before the due date. The amount of amniotic fluid cannot be effectively controlled through clinical methods. The fetal heart rate is a little slow. It is recommended to be hospitalized for observation. The hospital monitors the fetal heart rate every 4 hours. If there is any abnormality, a cesarean section should be performed immediately. However, some doctors believe that considering that the fetus is basically mature, it is better to deliver the baby in time and perform a cesarean section immediately. There is very little amniotic fluid. Without it, the fetus waiting in the uterus is in a very dangerous situation. Once hypoxia really occurs, it may be too late to perform a cesarean section.

If the amount of amniotic fluid is less than 300 ml, it is oligohydramnios. At this time, the amniotic fluid is particularly viscous, turbid, and dark green. Due to some reasons, the fetus has passed 42 weeks and the placenta and fetal membrane are on strike at this time, the secretion of fluid is greatly reduced, resulting in too little amniotic fluid.

In addition, if the fetus has congenital kidney deficiency, ureteral or urethral stenosis or other malformations, resulting in oliguria or anuria, it may also cause oligohydramnios. The fetus is very uncomfortable in such a harsh environment, its skin is particularly dry, and without the buffering effect of water, it is easily injured. In this case, as long as the mother insists on prenatal checkups, or seeks medical treatment in time due to overdue pregnancy, the problem can be discovered in time.

Therefore, if there is little amniotic fluid when the due date comes, it is recommended that the pregnant woman go to the hospital for a check-up immediately and listen to the advice of the attending physician before deciding on which specific treatment method to take.

Reasons for low amniotic fluid in pregnant women

1. Fetal malformation

For example, congenital renal agenesis, renal dysplasia, ureteral or urethral stenosis and other malformations in the fetus may lead to oliguria or anuria and cause oligohydramnios.

2. Post-term pregnancy

In post-term pregnancy, the placenta functions poorly, perfusion is insufficient, and the fetus becomes dehydrated, resulting in low amniotic fluid. Some scholars also believe that in overdue pregnancy, the fetus is overmature, its renal tubules are more sensitive to antidiuretic hormone, and the low urine volume leads to oligohydramnios. The incidence of oligohydramnios caused by post-term pregnancy is as high as 20% to 30%.

3. Intrauterine Growth Retardation (IUGR)

Oligohydramnios is one of the characteristics of intrauterine growth retardation. Chronic hypoxia causes redistribution of fetal blood circulation, mainly supplying the brain and heart, while renal blood flow decreases and fetal urine production decreases, resulting in oligohydramnios.

4. Amniotic membrane lesions

Electron microscopic observations found that the amniotic epithelial layer becomes thinner when the amniotic fluid is too low, the epithelial cells atrophy, the microvilli are short and thick, the tips are swollen, the number is small, there is squamous metaplasia, the rough inner reticular and Golgi complex in the cells are also reduced, and the desmosomes and hemidesmosomes between the epithelial cells and the basement membrane are reduced. It is believed that some unexplained oligohydramnios may be related to lesions of the amniotic membrane itself.