Digestive Diseases—Childbirth Problems

While childbirth usually goes well, complications can happen. They can cause a risk to the mother, baby, or both. Possible complications include

• Preterm (premature) labor, when labor starts before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy
• Problems with the umbilical cord
• Problems with the position of the baby, such as breech, in which the baby is going to come out feet first
• Birth injuries

For some of these problems, the baby may need to be delivered surgically by a Cesarean section.

• Assisted delivery with forceps (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Brachial plexus injury in newborns (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Breech birth (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Caput succedaneum (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Meconium aspiration syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Premature rupture of membranes (Medical Encyclopedia)

Also called: Gastrointestinal diseases

When you eat, your body breaks food down to a form it can use to build and nourish cells and provide energy. This process is called digestion.

Your digestive system is a series of hollow organs joined in a long, twisting tube. It runs from your mouth to your anus and includes your esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestines. Your liver, gallbladder and pancreas are also involved. They produce juices to help digestion.

There are many types of digestive disorders. The symptoms vary widely depending on the problem. In general, you should see your doctor if you have

• Blood in your stool
• Changes in bowel habits
• Severe abdominal pain
• Unintentional weight loss
• Heartburn not relieved by antacids

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

• Digestive diseases (Medical Encyclopedia)
• EGD discharge (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Fecal fat (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Gastrointestinal fistula (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Gastrointestinal perforation (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Lower GI Series – NIH (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
• Stools – floating (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Upper GI and small bowel series (Medical Encyclopedia)