Preeclampsia

Many complications might occur during pregnancy, like preeclampsia, which is a serious health issue that could lead to severe complications.

Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a serious pregnancy complication that affects the blood pressure, and it typically occurs after twenty weeks of pregnancy.

Causes and risk factors of preeclampsia

It’s believed that preeclampsia starts from the placenta in the new blood vessels that develop in the beginning of the pregnancy to feed the fetus. If there is a problem in these blood vessels, this may affect the blood pressure of the mother.

The risk of preeclampsia increases due to the following factors:

• Pregnancy with more than one baby.
• Using IVF.
• Chronic hypertension.
• Diabetic mother.
• Kidney disease.
• Autoimmune disease.
• Other mild risk factors of preeclampsia are obesity, being older than 35, family history, and suffering from pregnancy complications in previous pregnancies.

Symptoms of preeclampsia

Some cases of preeclampsia might not have any symptoms. They usually include:

• High blood pressure.
• Kidney issues, especially protein in the urine.
• Liver problems, like increased liver enzymes.
• Low platelet count.
• Shortness of breath.
• Severe headache.
• Vision changes.
• Pain in the upper part of the abdomen.
• Nausea and vomiting.

Complications of preeclampsia

• Placental abruption.
• Preterm birth or low-weight birth.
• Fetal growth restriction.
• Cardiovascular disease.
• Damages in the lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, or eyes.
• Stroke.
• Eclampsia (the onset of seizures or coma).
• HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count).

Diagnosis of preeclampsia

• Measuring the blood pressure.
• Urine tests.
• Blood tests.
• Ultrasound.

Treatment of preeclampsia

• Preeclampsia is an emergency, and it’s managed by certain medications and monitoring during hospitalization.
• In severe cases, delivery is necessary.
• The risk of preeclampsia can be reduced by maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, following a healthy diet, taking aspirin in some cases, and managing other conditions, if any.