Overview
Preeclampsia may be a pregnancy complication characterized by high vital sign and signs of injury to a different organ system, most frequently the liver and kidneys. Preeclampsia usually begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy in women whose vital sign had been normal.
Left untreated, preeclampsia can cause serious — even fatal — complications for both you and your baby. If you've got preeclampsia, the foremost effective treatment is delivery of your baby. Even after delivering the baby, it can still take a short time for you to urge better.
If you're diagnosed with preeclampsia too early in your pregnancy to deliver your baby, you and your doctor face a challenging task. Your baby needs longer to mature, but you would like to avoid putting yourself or your baby in danger of great complications.
Rarely, preeclampsia develops after delivery of a baby, a condition referred to as postpartum preeclampsia.
Symptoms
Preeclampsia sometimes develops without any symptoms. High vital sign may develop slowly, or it's going to have a sudden onset. Monitoring your vital sign is a crucial a part of prenatal care because the primary sign of preeclampsia is usually an increase in vital sign . Blood pressure that exceeds 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or greater — documented on twice , a minimum of four hours apart — is abnormal.
Other signs and symptoms of preeclampsia may include:
Ø Excess protein in your urine (proteinuria) or additional signs of kidney problems
Ø Severe headaches
Ø Changes in vision, including temporary loss of vision, blurred vision or light sensitivity
Ø Upper abdominal pain, usually under your ribs on the right side
Ø Nausea or vomiting
Ø Decreased urine output
Ø Decreased levels of platelets in your blood (thrombocytopenia)
Ø Impaired liver function
Ø Shortness of breath, caused by fluid in your lungs
Sudden weight gain and swelling (edema) — particularly in your face and hands — may occur with preeclampsia. But these also occur in many normal pregnancies, so they are not considered reliable signs of preeclampsia.
Causes
The exact cause of preeclampsia involves several factors. Experts believe it begins within the placenta — the organ that nourishes the fetus throughout pregnancy. Early in pregnancy, new blood vessels develop and evolve to efficiently send blood to the placenta.
In women with preeclampsia, these blood vessels don't seem to develop or function properly. They're narrower than normal blood vessels and react differently to hormonal signaling, which limits the quantity of blood which will flow through them.
Causes of this abnormal development may include:
Ø Insufficient blood flow to the uterus
Ø Damage to the blood vessels
Ø A problem with the immune system
Ø Certain genes
Risk factors
Preeclampsia develops only as a complication of pregnancy. Risk factors include:
Ø History of preeclampsia. A personal or case history of preeclampsia significantly raises your risk of preeclampsia.
Ø Chronic hypertension. If you have already got chronic hypertension, you've got a better risk of developing preeclampsia.
Ø First pregnancy. The risk of developing preeclampsia is highest during your first pregnancy.
Ø New paternity. Each pregnancy with a replacement partner increases the danger of preeclampsia quite does a second or third pregnancy with an equivalent partner.
Ø Age. The risk of preeclampsia is higher for very young pregnant women also as pregnant women older than 35.
Ø Race. Black women have a higher risk of developing preeclampsia than women of other races.
Ø Obesity. The risk of preeclampsia is higher if you're obese.
Ø Multiple pregnancy. Preeclampsia is more common in women who are carrying twins, triplets or other multiples.
Ø Interval between pregnancies. Having babies but two years or quite 10 years apart results in a better risk of preeclampsia.
Ø History of certain conditions. Having certain conditions before you become pregnant — like chronic high vital sign , migraines, type 1 or type 2 diabetes, renal disorder , a bent to develop blood clots, or lupus — increases your risk of preeclampsia.
Ø In vitro fertilization. Your risk of preeclampsia is increased if your baby was conceived with in vitro fertilization.
Prevention
Researchers still study ways to stop preeclampsia, but thus far , no clear strategies have emerged. Eating less salt, changing your activities, restricting calories, or consuming garlic or animal oil doesn't reduce your risk. Increasing your intake of vitamins C and E hasn't been shown to have a benefit.
Some studies have reported an association between vitamin D deficiency and an increased risk of preeclampsia. But while some studies have shown an association between taking vitamin D supplements and a lower risk of preeclampsia, others have did not make the connection.
In certain cases, however, you'll be ready to reduce your risk of preeclampsia with:
Ø Low-dose aspirin. If you meet certain risk factors — including a history of preeclampsia, a multiple pregnancy, chronic high vital sign , renal disorder , diabetes or autoimmune disorder — your doctor may recommend a daily low-dose aspirin (81 milligrams) beginning after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Ø Calcium supplements. In some populations, women who have calcium deficiency before pregnancy — and who aren't getting enough calcium during pregnancy through their diets — might enjoy calcium supplements to stop preeclampsia. However, it's unlikely that ladies from the us or other developed countries would have calcium deficiency to the degree that calcium supplements would benefit them.
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