If you are in your fifth month of pregnancy and you are experiencing headaches, dizziness, nausea, sudden weight gain and upper abdominal pain, then you better visit your physician right away. Such may be the usual symptoms of pregnancy. However, these symptoms are also considered as the primary signs of pre eclampsia, especially if you also experience changes in your visual senses and swelling.

Pre eclampsia, also known as pregnancy-induced hypertension is very typical for women especially during the last trimester of their pregnancy. It is basically characterized with an increased blood pressure along with the presence of excess protein in the urine. Basically, the excess protein indicates complications in the kidney.

If left untreated, Pre eclampsia can lead to lethal complications for the mother and the baby. However, this condition can easily be detected through regular prenatal check-ups.

What causes pre eclampsia?

Until the late nineteenth century, Pre eclampsia was often referred to as toxemia and people, even doctors, thought that it was caused by a toxin in the bloodstream of a pregnant woman. However, such theory was later debunked as experts discovered other causes.

Most researchers point out to insufficient blood flow to the uterus, along with damage to the blood vessels that allow the blood to freely circulate between the mother and the baby.

Some experts say that pre eclampsia may also be caused by a problem with the immune system. Others point out that it can ultimately be caused by a poor diet which causes deficiencies in pertinent nutrients needed in pregnancy.

Treatment and Cure

Unfortunately, the only way to completely cure pre eclampsia is by delivering the baby. During delivery, you are at a high risk for placental abruption and severe bleeding.

However, if it is still too early to deliver the baby, pregnancy should be prolonged. Thus, the doctor may have to recommend some tests, medications, and bed rest in order to temporary alleviate the effects of high blood pressure while the baby matures in your womb.

If you are diagnosed with mild pre eclampsia during the early stages of your pregnancy, the physician may ask you to have some bed rest. This means that you will have to limit your daily routine. You may have to lie in bed most of the time so as to increase the blood flow to your uterus and the placenta. Relaxation can also help lower your blood pressure.

Moreover, you may be required to take corticosteroids. Such medications can temporarily improve your liver and platelet functioning. It can also aid in the development of your baby’s lungs prior to delivery. GP

Pre-Eclampsia is a condition that usually occurs in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. Such complication is brought about by a defect in the placenta, which inhibits proper flow of nutrients that is needed for fetal development. If said situation is allowed to progress, premature delivery may be the only option. This post risks, since premature birth is associated with various baby disabilities like deafness, lung problems, and learning deficiencies.

Pre eclampsia is characterized by heightened blood pressure, fluid retention and the presence of protein in the urine, pre-eclampsia may prove to be fatal for both the mother and the infant if left undiagnosed. Same may even develop into eclampsia—a disorder that triggers seizures and convulsions, which in turn may lead to much severe consequences including death.

Symptoms

Escalation of blood pressure during pregnancy is common and this alone will not give any conclusive report with regards to the existence of pre-eclampsia. But if such scenario is coupled with swelling of the ankles, hands and face and the manifestation of protein in one’s urine, then it’s beyond question—the woman is suffering from pre-eclampsia. Other leading symptoms include agonizing headaches, continuous vomiting, abdominal pain, sudden increase in weight, and vision troubles.

Causes

What makes pre-eclampsia dreadful and frightening is the fact that its cause has yet to be completely identified. Contemporary notions point that the problem stems from the blood vessels located within the walls of the placenta. Further research reveals that women going through pre-eclampsia have spiking levels of activin A in their blood streams. However, the explanation behind such is still indefinite.

Factors that may spark Pre-Eclampsia

Statistics show that 3.33% of women in their first pregnancy have a propensity to develop pre-eclampsia. Another reason for the occurrence of such may be attributed to a genetic link. If your family possesses a history of said complication, then you’re a likely candidate to undergo the same. Studies also reflect that a woman who has experienced pre-eclampsia during her first pregnancy have a 20% possibility that it will occur yet again in future pregnancies. Other factors that need be mentioned are being obese, having wide gaps between pregnancies, carrying twins or multiple bundles of joy, and by getting pregnant as a teenager.

Treatment

When a woman shows symptoms of pre-eclampsia, it is but proper that medical treatment be applied. Though one must remember that there should be at least two symptoms that manifest at the same time to really conclude that pre-eclampsia does exist. Statistics illustrate that 20% of women who show piercing blood pressure during their pregnancy will likely develop the said condition.

When one is diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, it is advised that the mother be admitted to the hospital for meticulous monitoring and routine examinations. The medication that will be given is aimed to manage such condition, not to prevent the same. The only definitive treatment for pre-eclampsia is the delivery of the baby. And sometimes, this too, is not a possibility for time dictates the development of the infant.

Pre-eclampsia is manageable. Medications and strict diet may be taken to alleviate the high blood pressure and minimize the swelling.