A number of medications may be useful to delay delivery including: NSAIDs, calcium channel blockers, beta mimetics, and atosiban. Tocolysis rarely delays delivery beyond 24–48 hours. This delay however may be sufficient to allow the pregnant woman to be transferred to a center specialized for management of preterm deliveries and give administered corticosteroids to reduce neonatal organ immaturity. Meta-analyses indicate that calcium-channel blockers and an oxytocin antagonist can delay delivery by 2–7 days, and β2-agonist drugs delay by 48 hours but carry more side effects. Magnesium sulfate does not appear to be useful and may be harmful when used for this purpose.

The routine administration of antibiotics to all women with threatened preterm labor reduces the risk of the baby to get infected with group B streptococcus and has been shown to reduce related mortality rates.

When membranes rupture prematurely, obstetrical management looks for development of labor and signs of infection. Prophylactic antibiotic administration has been shown to prolong pregnancy and reduced neonatal morbidity with rupture of membranes at less than 34 weeks. Because of concern about necrotizing enterocolitis, amoxicillin or erythromycin has been recommended, but not amoxicillin + clavulanic acid (co-amoxiclav).

Drugs used during pregnancy can have temporary or permanent effects on the fetus. Anything (including drugs) that can cause permanent deformities in the fetus are labeled as teratogens. In the U.S., drugs were classified into categories A, B, C, D and X based on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rating system to provide therapeutic guidance based on potential benefits and fetal risks. Drugs, including some multivitamins, that have demonstrated no fetal risks after controlled studies in humans are classified as Category A. On the other hand, drugs like thalidomide with proven fetal risks that outweigh all benefits are classified as Category X.

Both expectant management (watchful waiting) and an induction of labor (artificially stimulating labor) are considered in this case. 90% of women start labor on their own within 24 hours, and therefore it is reasonable to wait for 12–24 hours as long as there is no risk of infection. However, if labor does not begin soon after the rupture of membranes, an induction of labor is recommended because it reduces rates of infections, decreases the chances that the baby will require a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and does not increase the rate of cesarean sections. If a woman strongly does not want to be induced, watchful waiting is an acceptable option as long as there is no sign of infection, the fetus is not in distress, and she is aware and accepts the risks of prolonged PROM. There is not enough data to show that the use of prophylactic antibiotics (to prevent infection) is beneficial for mothers or babies at or near term. Because of the potential side effects and development of antibiotic resistance, the use of antibiotics without the presence of infection is not recommended in this case.

Nutrition during pregnancy is important to ensure healthy growth of the fetus. Nutrition during pregnancy is different from the non-pregnant state. There are increased energy requirements and specific micronutrient requirements. Women benefit from education to encourage a balanced energy and protein intake during pregnancy. Some women may need professional medical advice if their diet is affected by medical conditions, food allergies, or specific religious/ ethical beliefs.

Adequate periconceptional (time before and right after conception) folic acid (also called folate or Vitamin B) intake has been shown to decrease the risk of fetal neural tube defects, such as spina bifida. The neural tube develops during the first 28 days of pregnancy, a urine pregnancy test is not usually positive until 14 days post-conception, explaining the necessity to guarantee adequate folate intake before conception. Folate is abundant in green leafy vegetables, legumes, and citrus. In the United States and Canada, most wheat products (flour, noodles) are fortified with folic acid.

DHA omega-3 is a major structural fatty acid in the brain and retina, and is naturally found in breast milk. It is important for the woman to consume adequate amounts of DHA during pregnancy and while nursing to support her well-being and the health of her infant. Developing infants cannot produce DHA efficiently, and must receive this vital nutrient from the woman through the placenta during pregnancy and in breast milk after birth.

Several micronutrients are important for the health of the developing fetus, especially in areas of the world where insufficient nutrition is common. Women living in low and middle income countries are suggested to take multiple micronutrient supplements containing iron and folic acid. These supplements have been shown to improve birth outcomes in developing countries, but do not have an effect on perinatal mortality. Adequate intake of folic acid, and iron is often recommended. In developed areas, such as Western Europe and the United States, certain nutrients such as Vitamin D and calcium, required for bone development, may also require supplementation. Vitamin E supplementation has not been shown to improve birth outcomes. Zinc supplementation has been associated with a decrease in preterm birth, but it is unclear whether it is causative. Daily iron supplementation reduces the risk of maternal anemia. Studies of routine daily iron supplementation for pregnant women found improvement in blood iron levels, without a clear clinical benefit. The nutritional needs for women carrying twins or triplets. are higher than those of women carrying one baby.

Women are counseled to avoid certain foods, because of the possibility of contamination with bacteria or parasites that can cause illness. Careful washing of fruits and raw vegetables may remove these pathogens, as may thoroughly cooking leftovers, meat, or processed meat. Unpasteurized dairy and deli meats may contain "Listeria," which can cause neonatal meningitis, stillbirth and miscarriage. Pregnant women are also more prone to "Salmonella" infections, can be in eggs and poultry, which should be thoroughly cooked. Cat feces and undercooked meats may contain the parasite Toxoplasma gondii and can cause toxoplasmosis. Practicing good hygiene in the kitchen can reduce these risks.

Women are also counseled to eat seafood in moderation and to eliminate seafood known to be high in mercury because of the risk of birth defects. Pregnant women are counseled to consume caffeine in moderation, because large amounts of caffeine are associated with miscarriage. However, the relationship between caffeine, birthweight, and preterm birth is unclear.

When the fetus is premature (< 37 weeks), the risk of being born prematurely must be weighed against the risk of prolonged membrane rupture. As long as the fetus is 34 weeks or greater, delivery is recommended as if the baby was term (see above).

The apprehension is not necessarily data driven and is a cautionary response to the lack of clinical studies in pregnant women. The indication is a trade-off between the adverse effects of the drug, the risks associated with intercurrent diseases and pregnancy complications, and the efficiency of the drug to prevent or ameliorate such risks. In some cases, the use of drugs in pregnancy carries benefits that outweigh the risks. For example, high fever is harmful for the fetus in the early months, thus the use of paracetamol (acetaminophen) is generally associated with lower risk than the fever itself. Similarly, diabetes mellitus during pregnancy may need intensive therapy with insulin to prevent complications to mother and baby. Pain management for the mother is another important area where an evaluation of the benefits and risks is needed. NSAIDs such as Ibuprofen and Naproxen are probably safe for use for a short period of time, 48–72 hours, once the mother has reached the second trimester. If taking aspirin for pain management the mother should never take a dose higher than 100 mg.

Some disorders and conditions can mean that pregnancy is considered high-risk (about 6-8% of pregnancies in the USA) and in extreme cases may be contraindicated. High-risk pregnancies are the main focus of doctors specialising in maternal-fetal medicine.

Serious pre-existing disorders which can reduce a woman's physical ability to survive pregnancy include a range of congenital defects (that is, conditions with which the woman herself was born, for example, those of the heart or , some of which are listed above) and diseases acquired at any time during the woman's life.

Miscarriage is the loss of a pregnancy prior to 20 weeks. In the UK miscarriage is defined as the loss of a pregnancy during the first 23 weeks.

U.S. Code of Federal Regulations requires that certain drugs and biological products must be labelled very specifically with respect to their effects on pregnant populations, including a definition of a "pregnancy category." These rules are enforced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA does not regulate labelling for all hazardous and non-hazardous substances and some potentially hazardous substances are not assigned a pregnancy category.

Australia’s categorisations system takes into account the birth defects, the effects around the birth or when the mother gives birth, and problems that will arise later in the child's life caused from the drug taken. The system places them into a category of their severity that the drug could cause to the infant when it crosses the placenta(Australian Government, 2014).

Low birthweight, pre-term birth and pre-eclampsia have been associated with maternal periodontitis exposure. But the strength of the observed associations is inconsistent and vary according to the population studied, the means of periodontal assessment and the periodontal disease classification employed. However the best is that the risk of low birth weight can be reduced with very simple therapy. Treatment of periodontal disease during gestation period is safe and reduction in inflammatory burden reduces the risk of preterm birth as well as low birth weight.

Medication is used to relieve fever, seizures, and weight loss or dehydration. When medication is use for opiate withdrawal in newborn babies is deemed necessary, opiates are the treatment of choice; they are slowly tapered down to wean the baby off opiates. Phenobarbital is sometimes used as an alternative but is less effective in suppressing seizures; however, phenobarbital is superior to diazepam for neonatal opiate withdrawal symptoms. In the case of sedative-hypnotic neonatal withdrawal, phenobarbital is the treatment of choice. Clonidine is an emerging add-on therapy.

Opioids such as neonatal morphine solution and methadone are commonly used to treat clinical symptoms of opiate withdrawal, but may prolong neonatal drug exposure and duration of hospitalization. A study demonstrated a shorter wean duration in infants treated with methadone compared to those treated with diluted tincture of opium. When compared to morphine, methadone has a longer half-life in children, which allows for less frequent dosing intervals and steady serum concentrations to prevent neonatal withdrawal symptoms.

While active maternal tobacco smoking has well established adverse perinatal outcomes such as LBW, that mothers who smoke during pregnancy are twice as likely to give birth to low-birth weight infants. Review on the effects of passive maternal smoking, also called environmental tobacco exposure (ETS), demonstrated that increased risks of infants with LBW were more likely to be expected in ETS-exposed mothers.

Regarding environmental toxins in pregnancy, elevated blood lead levels in pregnant women, even those well below 10 ug/dL can cause miscarriage, premature birth, and LBW in the offspring. With 10 ug/dL as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's “level of concern”, this cut-off value really needs to arise more attentions and implementations in the future.

The combustion products of solid fuel in developing countries can cause many adverse health issues in people. Because a majority of pregnant women in developing countries, where rate of LBW is high, are heavily exposed to indoor air pollution, increased relative risk translates into substantial population attributable risk of 21% of LBW.

One environmental exposure which has been found to increase the risk of low birth weight is particulate matter, a component of ambient air pollution. Because particulate matter is composed of extremely small particles, even nonvisible levels can be inhaled and present harm to the fetus. Particulate matter exposure can cause inflammation, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, and impaired oxygen transport access to the placenta, all of which are mechanisms for heightening the risk of low birth weight. To reduce exposure to particulate matter, pregnant women can monitor the EPA’s Air Quality Index and take personal precautionary measures such as reducing outdoor activity on low quality days, avoiding high-traffic roads/intersections, and/or wearing personal protective equipment (i.e., facial mask of industrial design). Indoor exposure to particulate matter can also be reduced through adequate ventilation, as well as use of clean heating and cooking methods.

A correlation between maternal exposure to CO and low birth weight has been reported that the effect on birth weight of increased ambient CO was as large as the effect of the mother smoking a pack of cigarettes per day during pregnancy.

It has been revealed that adverse reproductive effects (e.g., risk for LBW) were correlated with maternal exposure to air pollution combustion emissions in Eastern Europe and North America.

Mercury is a known toxic heavy metal that can harm fetal growth and health, and there has been evidence showing that exposure to mercury (via consumption of large oily fish) during pregnancy may be related to higher risks of LBW in the offspring.

It was revealed that, exposure of pregnant women to airplane noise was found to be associated with low birth weight. Aircraft noise exposure caused adverse effects on fetal growth leading to low birth weight and preterm infants.

If one does continue to smoke after giving birth, however, it is still more beneficial to breastfeed than to completely avoid this practice altogether. There is evidence that breastfeeding offers protection against many infectious diseases, especially diarrhea. Even in babies exposed to the harmful effects of nicotine through breast milk, the likelihood of acute respiratory illness is significantly diminished when compared to infants whose mothers smoked but were formula fed. Regardless, the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh the risks of nicotine exposure.

Recombinant EPO (r-EPO) may be given to premature infants to stimulate red blood cell production. Brown and Keith (1999) studied two groups of 40 very low birth weight (VLBW) infants to compare the erythropoietic response between two and five times a week dosages of recombinant human erythropoietin (r-EPO) using the same dose. They established that more frequent dosing of the same weekly amount of r-EPO generated a significant and continuous increase in Hb in VLBW infants. The infants that received five dosages had 219,857 mm³ while infants that received two dosages only had 173,361 mm³. However, the response to r-EPO typically takes up to two weeks and the higher dosages lead to higher Hb. Brown and Keith (1999) study also showed responses between two dosage schedules (two times a week and five times a week). Infants were recruited for gestational age—age since conception—≤27 weeks and 28 to 30 weeks and then randomized into the two groups, each totaling 500 U/kg a week. Brown and Keith found that after two weeks of r-EPO administration, Hb counts had increased and leveled off; the infants who received r-EPO five times a week had significantly higher Hb counts. This was present at four weeks for all infants ≤30 weeks gestation and at 8 weeks for infants ≤27 weeks gestation.

To date, studies of r-EPO use in premature infants have had mixed results. Ohls et al. examined the use of early r-EPO plus iron and found no short-term benefits in two groups of infants (172 infants less than 1000 g and 118 infants 1000–1250 g). All r-EPO treated infants received 400 U/g three times a week until they reached 35 weeks gestational age. The use of r-EPO did not decrease the average number of transfusions in the infants born at less than 1000 g, or the percentage of infants in the 1000 to 1250 group. A multi-center European trial studied early versus late r-EPO in 219 infants with birth weights between 500 and 999 g. An r-EPO close of 750 U/kg/week was given to infants in both the early (1–9 weeks) and late (4–10 weeks) groups. The two r-EPO groups were compared to a control group who did not receive r-EPO. Infants in all three groups received 3 to 9 mg/kg of enteral iron. These investigators reported a slight decrease in transfusion and donor exposures in the early r-EPO group (1–9 weeks): 13% early, 11% late and 4% control group. It is likely that only a carefully selected subpopulation of infants may benefit from its use. Contrary to what just said, Bain and Blackburn (2004) also state in another study the use of r-EPO does not appear to have a significant effect on reducing the numbers of early transfusions in most infants, but may be useful to reduce numbers of late transfusion in extremely low-birth-weight infants. A British task force to establish transfusion guidelines for neonates and young children and to help try to explain this confusion recently concluded that “the optimal dose, timing, and nutritional support required during EPO treatment has yet to be defined and currently the routine use of EPO in this patient population is not recommended as similar reduction in blood use can probably be achieved with appropriate transfusion protocols.”

Pregnancy does not have an adverse effect on the course of Behçet's disease and may possibly ameliorate its course. Still, there is a substantial variability in clinical course between patients and even for different pregnancies in the same patient. Also, the other way around, Behçet's disease confers an increased risk of pregnancy complications, miscarriage and Cesarean section.

Neonatal infection treatment is typically started before the diagnosis of the cause can be confirmed.

Neonatal infection can be prophylactically treated with antibiotics. Maternal treatment with antibiotics is primarily used to protect against group B streptococcus.

Women with a history of HSV, can be treated with antiviral drugs to prevent symptomatic lesions and viral shedding that could infect the infant at birth. The antiviral medications used include acyclovir, penciclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir. Only very small amounts of the drug can be detected in the fetus. There are no increases in drug-related abnormalities in the infant that could be attributed to acyclovir. Long-term effects of antiviral medications have not been evaluated for their effects after growth and development of the child occurs. Neutropenia can be a complication of acyclovir treatment of neonatal HSV infection, but is usually transient. Treatment with immunoglobulin therapy has not been proven to be effective.

Quitting smoking at any point during pregnancy is more beneficial than continuing to smoke throughout the entire 9 months of pregnancy, especially if it is done within the first trimester (within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy). A recent study suggests, however, that women who smoke anytime during the first trimester put their fetus at a higher risk for birth defects, particularly congenital heart defects (structural defects in the heart of an infant that can hinder blood flow) than women who have never smoked. That risk only continues to increase the longer into the pregnancy a woman smokes, as well as the larger number of cigarettes she is smoking. This continued increase in risk throughout pregnancy means that it can still be beneficial for a pregnant woman to quit smoking for the remainder of her gestation period.

There are many resources to help pregnant women quit smoking such as counseling and drug therapies. For non-pregnant smokers, an often-recommended aid to quitting smoking is through the use of Nicotine replacement therapy in the form of patches, gum, inhalers, lozenges, sprays or sublingual tablets (tablets which you place under the tongue). However, it is important to note that the use of Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRTs) is questionable for pregnant women as these treatments still deliver nicotine to the child. For some pregnant smokers, NRT might still be the most beneficial and helpful solution to quit smoking. It is important to talk to your doctor to determine the best course of action on an individual basis.

In pregnancy, changes in the levels of female sex hormones, such as estrogen, make a woman more likely to develop candidal vulvovaginitis. During pregnancy, the "Candida" fungus is more prevalent (common), and recurrent infection is also more likely. There is no clear evidence that treatment of asymptomatic candidal vulvovaginitis in pregnancy reduces the risk of preterm birth. Candidal vulvovaginitis in pregnancy should be treated with intravaginal clotrimazole or nystatin for at least 7 days.

Non-medication based approaches to treat neonatal symptoms include swaddling the infant in a blanket, minimizing environmental stimuli, and monitoring sleeping and feeding patterns. Breastfeeding promotes infant attachment and bonding and is associated with a decreased need for medication. These approaches may lessen the severity of NAS and lead to shorter hospital stays.

Other strategies involve the reduction of blood loss during phlebotomy.

Another treatment used is therapeutic strategies. These strategies are aimed at reducing transfusions have assessed the use of strict blood transfusions guidelines and EPO therapy, but reduction of blood loss is most important. For extremely low birth weight infants, laboratory blood testing using bedside devices offers a unique opportunity to reduce blood transfusions. This practice has been referred to as point-of-care testing. Use of these kind of devices to measure the most common ordered blood tests could significantly decrease phlebotomy loss and lead to a reduction in the need for blood transfusions among critically ill premature neonates. A study was done by Adams, Benitz, Geaghan, Kumar, Madan and Widness (2005) to test this theory by conducting a retrospective chart review on all inborn infants <1000g admitted to the NICU during two separate years. Conventional bench top laboratory analysis during the first year was done using Radiometer Blood Gas and Electrolyte Analyzer. Bedside blood gas analysis during the second year was performed using a point-of-care analyzer. An estimated blood loss in the two groups was determined based on the number of specific blood tests on individual infants. The study found that there was an estimated 30% reduction in the total volume of blood removed for the blood tests. This study concluded that there is modern technology that can be used instead of blood transfusions and r-EPO.

Treatment of infants suffering birth asphyxia by lowering the core body temperature is now known to be an effective therapy to reduce mortality and improve neurological outcome in survivors, and hypothermia therapy for neonatal encephalopathy begun within 6 hours of birth significantly increases the chance of normal survival in affected infants.

There has long been a debate over whether newborn infants with birth asphyxia should be resuscitated with 100% oxygen or normal air. It has been demonstrated that high concentrations of oxygen lead to generation of oxygen free radicals, which have a role in reperfusion injury after asphyxia. Research by Ola Didrik Saugstad and others led to new international guidelines on newborn resuscitation in 2010, recommending the use of normal air instead of 100% oxygen.

Currently, there are no treatments prescribed for PVL. All treatments administered are in response to secondary pathologies that develop as a consequence of the PVL. Because white matter injury in the periventricular region can result in a variety of deficits, neurologists must closely monitor infants diagnosed with PVL in order to determine the severity and extent of their conditions.

Patients are typically treated with an individualized treatment. It is crucial for doctors to observe and maintain organ function: visceral organ failure can potentially occur in untreated patients. Additionally, motor deficits and increased muscle tone are often treated with individualized physical and occupational therapy treatments.