Signs Of Preeclampsia During Pregancy

Preeclampsia is a complicated, dangerous pregnancy-related version of high blood pressure or hypertension. Formerly called toxemia, it can cause problems to both the mother and baby. The cause is not totally understood but it tends to be genetic and there seems to be a link to the way the placenta grows though this is not conclusive; strangely the symptom goes away once the placenta is delivered.

Symptoms of Preeclampsia During Pregancy..

Although many women will have slightly raised blood pressure and some protein in the urine, only a small percentage are affected enough to warrant treatment. With the mild form, you can't even tell you have this condition, since it can be only be picked up with regular urine and blood pressure checks during your antenatal checkups. If you have any of the below mentioned symptoms, reach your doctor ASAP. Severe preeclampsia can cause

• Rise in blood pressure

• Sudden weight gain due to fluid retention

• Severe headaches

• Vision problems such as blurry visions or flashing before the eyes

• Protein in your pee

• Vomiting

• Sudden swelling of face, hands or feet

• Difficulty in passing urine, or passing urine in small amounts

• Upper or mild abdominal pain

• Irritability

• Nausea, dizzy spells

Preeclampsia Effects..

• It usually affects pregnant women in the later part of their pregnancies, though it can be as early as week 24! It can interfere with the blood supply to the placenta thereby reducing the nutrient and oxygen level to the baby.

• It can cause labor to be induced or a C-section to further curb the raised BP levels

• Left untreated high BP can damage mother's kidneys, nervous system and blood vessels

• Babies of mothers with this condition tend to be smaller

• There is an increased risk of stillbirth

• Without warning preeclampsia can turn into the very serious eclampsia, although this is very rare these days.

• Eclampsia happens out of the blue and is very dangerous as it is life-threatening to both the mother and the unborn child.

• The blood vessels in the uterus go into spasms, cutting the blood supply to baby

• Eclampsia starts with convulsions and ends with a coma; kidney failure, liver and lung problems, bleeding from the placenta, blood clotting problems are the other complications.

Checks
• It can be detected early and therefore managed under care but it is not preventable

• Your urine and blood pressure are checked at your routine visits

• Inform your doctor about any swellings, headaches, vision problems or gastric pains (fluid retention doesn't necessarily mean preeclampsia)

Treatment of Preeclampsia

• The sure-fire treatment is to deliver the baby.

• For mild preeclampsia, bed rest at home or the hospital under careful supervision of both mother and baby

• Tests may include blood and urine checks, monitoring fetal heart rate, ultrasound scans to check baby's weight and measure blood flow to the placenta

• You will be drinking lots of fluids

• Your sodium intake will be controlled

• You may be put on medication to bring your BP down

• For severe forms, you will need to be hospitalized and observed. You will be treated with medications to control your BP and your labor might be induced or you may have cesarean depending on how well you respond to the medications, the state of your uterus and how advanced your pregnancy is.

Final word…

Many women may blame themselves for this condition: they feel it is lack of exercise or too much of exercise, wrong diet, stress and strain etc. The fact is there is no known cause for this condition; research is still underway and hopefully there will be some light shed on this soon.