Pre-eclampsia

I have been dealing with some interesting changes in my blood pressure this last week, which reminded me…  

Pre-Eclampsia. It seems like one of those terms that kind of just gets tossed around when someone gets pregnant. Most people know that the word pre-eclampsia is associated with blood pressure. We don't want high blood pressure if we are pregnant. (Also, we don't want high blood pressure even if we aren't pregnant!) 

Pre-eclampsia affects 2-8% of pregnancies in the world...and in the U.S. pre-eclampsia causes about 15% of births to be pre-term. Whoaaa! That's a lot! 

When we have high blood pressure, our blood vessels and our heart are receiving a lot of stress. This stress can result in heart damage, especially if it goes untreated. And during pregnancy, our bodies are already adjusting to taking care of a little growing munchkin. So we must protect that heart and baby! 

As a little bit of background...here are the current recommendations regarding blood pressure readings (NOT specific to pregnancy) 

What is Pre-Eclampsia? 

• It is a serious health condition!  

• It is a result of high blood pressure during pregnancy (or up to 6 weeks after birth, called post-partum pre-eclampsia) 

Take a moment to look at all of these! VERY IMPORTANT!

Take a moment to look at all of these! VERY IMPORTANT!

 How does the doc diagnose pre-eclampsia?  

• It is often diagnosed after the 20th week of pregnancy

• Blood pressure

  • MONITORING! Monitoring for blood pressure values >140/90 (meaning either of those numbers can be high).

  • And a single reading isn't usually sufficient. It is usually of concern if these numbers are elevated 2 times with a 4 hour period in between. 

• Urine Tests and Blood Work

  • Using lab work, they should watch for protein in the urine or signs of other kidney problems, liver function abnormalities and low platelets 

• Ask about any symptoms of abnormal headaches or abnormal vision 

• Breathing

  • Monitor any breathing patterns or shortness of breath that may lead them to check for fluid in the lungs (often noticed if you have difficulty breathing)  

What might increase your risk?  

Your First Pregnancy 

Multifetal gestations (twins, triplets, etc.) 

Pre-Eclampsia in previous pregnancies 

Chronic high blood pressure 

Pre-gestational diabetes (having diabetes before pregnancy) 

Gestational Diabetes (diabetes that is first discovered while pregnant) 

Thrombophilia (blood disorder) 

SLE (Lupus, an autoimmune disease) 

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (autoimmune disease) 

BMI >30 (also listed as overweight on the BMI charts) 

>35 years old  

Kidney Disease 

Assisted reproductive technology (such as fertility treatment) 

Sleep apnea