DISEASES THAT MAY
MAKE PREGNANCY DANGEROUS
Heart disease Kidney disease, especially Bright's disease
and chronic pyelonephritis High blood pressure Diabetes Tuberculosis Venereal
disease they are dangerous if uncontrolled. Some can be cured completely.
Others can be controlled so as not to necessarily endanger the life of mother
or baby. Even heart disease in many instances does not pose too serious a risk if
proper care is taken. But only a physician, after thorough examination, can
validly decide whether pregnancy will be harmful or dangerous in an individual
case.
However much a woman with a serious disease not yet brought under good
control may wish to become pregnant, it may be reckless for her to do so if her
physician advises against it. If she survives the pregnancy, she may not have
the health and strength to properly care for her baby.
ADOPTION Most couples who are unable to have children of
their own for any reason-the health of the mother or a problem of infertility,
which we will discuss next-need not be childless. Responsible agencies in the
field of adoption today eliminate virtually all risk when a couple wishes to
adopt a child. Such agencies obtain information about the real parents, examine
and test the child, try to match child and adoptive parents as far as possible.
Of course, there may be risk when one obtains a baby through unofficial
sources. If you or your physician do not know of any responsible adoption
agency, The Child Welfare League of America, 44 East 23rd St., New York, N.Y.
10010, can provide a list of approved agencies. Discuss your feelings about the
problems of adoption freely with representatives of the agency handling the adoption.
This will help to avoid reservations in the love you give your adopted child
and the love and enjoyment you can expect to receive.
