Management of the pregnant oral and maxillofacial surgery patient.

Pregnancy causes many changes in the physiology of the female patient, providing the oral and maxillofacial surgeon with many challenges. These alterations are sometimes subtle but can lead to disastrous complications if proper precautions are not taken. There are many myths regarding the gravid patient—some of them are true, and many of them not. In this article, these myths are either dispelled or clarified. Physiologically, changes occur in the cardiovascular, hematologic, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary systems (Table 1). These changes are reviewed.