Bad obstetric history panel blood tests are useful for determining the causes behind issues in previous pregnancies. The issues can include stillbirth, miscarriage, and various other unwanted and adverse conditions. Scroll till the end to gather more details about the BOH test.
Procedure and Prerequisites
The blood sample for the BOH panel test is collected from a vein in the arm by inserting a needle. A small amount of blood is collected inside a vial or test tube. Due to the needle prick, you might experience slight pain.
Before taking the test, overnight fasting of 10 to 12 hours is mandatory. People who are on heparin should discontinue it for a day before taking the test. People who are on oral anticoagulants need to discontinue them for 7 days before providing the sample because these medicines can influence test results. However, don’t forget to consult your healthcare provider before discontinuing the medicines.
Benefits of the BOH Test
The BOH test is useful for detecting the cause behind the following:
- Presence of recurrent spontaneous abortions
- Early neonatal deaths
- Stillbirths
- Intrauterine death
Classification of BOH
Women with complications during a previous pregnancy can be classified as the following under BOH:
- Preterm labor
- Repeated abortions, particularly in the first or second trimester
- Intrauterine demise, or the mother losing the baby inside the uterus
- Anomalies in the fetus
- Severe fetal growth restriction or intrauterine growth restriction
- Neonatal demise or the death of a newborn within a month
Causes of BOH
Some causes that can lead to BOH are as follows:
- Baby with low weight: Maternal stress often leads to the birth of a baby with low weight. Some other reasons behind this include uterine abnormality, abnormal placentation, insufficiency of the placenta, and more. It can lead to the pulmonary syndrome, dehydration, cerebral hemorrhage, respiratory problems, fatal shock, and more.
- Stillbirth: Stillbirth indicates that a newborn isn’t breathing after a certain viability period. A stillborn baby does not show any signs of life after delivery. Birth asphyxia and trauma pregnancy usually lead to these issues.
- Prolonged labor: It can occur due to several issues like fetal malpresentation, issues with uterine contraction, cephalopelvic disproportion, and tumors in the pelvis. It often leads to low oxygen levels and abnormal heart rhythm in the baby.
- Intrauterine death: It refers to the death of a baby inside the uterus. Expecting mothers can feel the movements of the baby during the 20th week of pregnancy. However, the movements cannot be felt in case of intrauterine death. While a stillborn baby does not respond after birth, intrauterine death makes a baby incapable of responding inside the mother’s uterus. Intrauterine death usually occurs due to genetic abnormalities.
- Recurrent loss of a pregnancy: It refers to more than two spontaneous pregnancy losses. It leads to hypertensive disease, cervical and endocrine incompetence, thrombophilia, and more. In some cases, the recurrent loss of a pregnancy can also be genetic.
Some other causes behind BOH are as follows:
- Thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy
- Genetic reasons leading to habitual abortions during the first or second trimester
- Pre-eclampsia, which leads to high blood pressure in women
- Inherited or acquired thrombophilia
- Anatomical factors associated with the cervix or uterus
Detecting the root cause behind BOH is necessary for choosing appropriate treatment options.
Treatment for BOH
The treatment method for BOH depends on its cause. Some common procedures behind BOH treatment are as follows:
- When BOH is triggered by endocrine issues, prolactin levels need to be monitored. It is also necessary to evaluate TSH and anti-thyroid antibodies in the body.
- The TORCH test is performed to screen the infection that’s leading to BOH.
- Karyotype analysis is a treatment method useful for habitual abortion. This treatment method helps figure out the number of chromosomes along with their structure. In the case of habitual abortion, both the aborted fetus and the parents are tested through the karyotype analysis method.
- Vitamin D supplements are also useful for treating BOH.
- Hypothyroidism and bromocriptine must also be treated.
Other Common Causes Bad Obstetric History (BOH)
The causes of Bad Obstetric History (BOH) rely upon various reasons. These are –
- Stillbirth indicates the infant doesn’t breathe after the time of viability. After the conveyance, he/she looks alive. The cause behind it is trauma pregnancy and birth asphyxia.
- Baby with low weight-The reason behind low weight is maternal pressure, abnormal placentation, uterine abnormality, constant medical condition, deficiency of the placenta, contamination, heavy draining in Choriodecidual space, and so on. It can bring about pulmonary conditions, fatal shock, dehydration, respiratory issue, and cerebral hemorrhage.
- Intrauterine death-It suggests the death of the baby in the uterus and a fatal downfall. In the 2oth seven-day stretch of pregnancy, ladies can feel the development of the baby yet in this case, they cannot feel that. There is a basic contrast between stillbirth and intrauterine death. Stillbirth indicates the baby doesn’t answer after birth yet in that frame of mind of intrauterine death, the baby doesn’t answer in that frame of mind of the mother. This can happen because of hereditary abnormalities.
- Prolonged labor-It has an enormous reason behind it. The imbalance of contracted pelvis fetopelvic, cancer n pelvic, malposition and the male extent and in hatchling congenital anomalies. Too lengthy labor causes low oxygen levels and abnormality in the heart cadence in the baby.
- Recurrent loss of a pregnancy-It indicates multiple spontaneous pregnancy losses. It causes hypertensive disease, endocrinal, cervical inadequacy, and disorder thrombophilia Antiphospholipid antibody. This can be hereditary as well.
Summing up
The treatment for BOH depends on the causes behind it, which can be ascertained by an analysis of the test results. Therefore, getting your BOH test done as early as possible is necessary to get proper treatment. The blood sample for the BOH panel test is collected from a vein in the arm by inserting a needle. A small amount of blood is collected inside a vial or test tube. Due to the needle prick, you might experience slight pain. However, always remember to get your BOH evaluation done by a reliable lab. A trustworthy lab will help you receive accurate BOH evaluation results at an affordable price.
