What is Preeclampsia?
Preeclampsia, also known as Toxemia, is a problem that occurs in some women during pregnancy. It and is related to increased blood pressure and protein in the mother’s urine. The usual signs of preeclampsia are high blood pressure, swelling that doesn’t go away and large amounts of protein in your urine.
The serious side of preeclampsia is that it affects the placenta from getting enough blood and that prevents your baby from getting enough air and food. It can also affect the mother’s kidney, liver, and brain. It can be a life threatening situation.
Many women with high blood pressure during pregnancy don’t have protein in their urine or extreme swelling, and don’t get preeclampsia so high blood pressure alone is not a sign of concern. Just like swelling alone doesn’t necessarily mean you have preeclampsia either. Some swelling is normal during pregnancy, you may even notice your rings or shoes might be a little tight.
If you have preeclampsia, the only cure is delivery of the baby. This is the best way to protect both of you but this isn’t always possible due to early delivery complications. Your doctor will do whatever is necessary to control your blood pressure and he will certainly keep a close eye on you. Your office visits could be bumped up to weekly or even daily visits, depending on your immediate situation.
Most women with preeclampsia still deliver healthy babies, however again depending on the situation your doctor may recommend a c-section. If your case is mild, you may be able to control it with bed rest and make it to full term and even go with a vaginal birth
Preeclampsia Symptoms
If you experience any of these symptoms, call your doctor right away:
Abnormal swelling of the feet and hands
Severe headaches
Smaller amounts of urine or no urine
Blood in your urine
Drowsiness or Dizziness
Excessive nausea or vomiting
Ringing or buzzing sound in ears
Fever
Double vision or blurred vision
Rapid heartbeat
Sudden blindness
Pain in the abdomen
Vomiting blood
two weeks ago i lost my baby boy at 29 weeks.. i was discharged from the hospital shortly after my delivery, only to return the next night with severe abdominal pain that i suffered through the last four weeks but only greater! and that’s when i was diagnosed with Preeclampsia and all the questions i asked about my baby’s death were answered!!!
a month earlier when i went for my regular check up with my ob/gyn, my feet were severely swollen. However, by blood pressure was normal and my blood work showed absolutely no signs of toxins and my urine had no extra protiene!! the doctor told me to take tylanol for all these abdominal pains.. i kept quite and took tylanol every day while suffering from extreme abdominal pains. I could no longer take full breaths, yawn or even walk straight! i stayed positive thinking that my angel is growing inside me and therefore there is no more space left in my tummy! i was wrong, my angel was dying and i was intoxicated.
I wish Preeclampsia never happens to anyone.
my best advice is to report to your doctor if you have a family history of high blood pressure even though you never had any problems with your own.. this is the most important step you do. if you have relatives who had preeclampsia, then your pregnancy will be considered high risk and will be most likely be put on baby asprin.
my second advice is to invest in a blood pressure monitoring machine.. pre eclampsia occurs after 20 weeks of gestation.. so check your blood pressure regularly (it is even better to monitor your blood pressure before getting pregnant and compare it with your bp during pregnancy to see if it went higher than normal)
my next advice is to listen to your body, not to “welcome to the world of pregnancy” rephrased comments.. you don’t have to suffer from extreme pains just because you are pregnant! in fact, your should not suffer at all! it should be a joyful experience rather than painful.. if you feel pain in your upper stomach right behind your ribs (more pain in the right side), you must go to the hospital immediately (it’s a sign that you are poisoned and your liver has enlarged)
my last advice is directed to all women with a history of migraines and headaches.. at 20 weeks your migraines should completely disappear. if you get your headaches back, do not confuse them with migraines! this is a fatal mistake you are doing to your baby!! so if you experience headaches, blurry vision, annoying sounds in your ears or generally feeling wiered in your head.. run to your doctor to check your blood pressure and get you tested for fetal distress.. man i am so angry no one talks to expectant mothers about this. I think expectant mothers should be made more aware of pregnancy complications rather than benifits of breastfeeding over bottle feeding!!
nothing will ever bring my baby back, this is the hardest part of accepting what happened to me… but hopefully by sharing my experience and advices, this will keep you and your baby safe and will happily meet after a long wait
So sad to hear about your baby boy *hugs* Thank you so much for your great advice. After all you’ve been through you’re so kind to offer your help. Many blessings to you.