​Pre- eclampsia is a medical condition used to refer to high blood pressure in pregnancy. It is often so silent that not many women would not identify it symptoms from earlier on. Most often it is accompanied by proteins in the urine which of course one needs to do a test in order to find that out. The reason it often goes silent is that any of its symptoms are generally pregnancy symptoms of aches and pains and can be over looked by many thinking that it is normal and would go away.

It first creeps up as on and off/ high and low blood pressure levels and after twenty weeks of pregnancy it progresses to protein in the urine and permanent blood pressure fluctuations throughout the day. Ironically it disappears a few weeks after delivery and in cases where it is extremely severe, labour is induced as a means of saving the woman’s life. The first symptom is of course a heightened blood pressure whose symptoms include dizziness, faintness, nausea, and thirstiness which ordinarily would pass for morning sickness. Secondly it also includes oedema that is, swelling of the face, hands and feet as a result of accumulation of fluid in the body tissues.

Another symptom is intense abdominal pain usually on the right side of the belly. In severe cases it will then include kidney and liver problems. The effect of this is that the growth of the foetus is prohibited. It is also a factor to causing miss- carriages. Those at risk are very young women below eighteen years of age, women who had diabetes prior to the pregnancy, over weight / obese women, older women above thirty two years and above and having their first pregnancy and women having multiple pregnancies such as twins and triplets. If it progresses further it becomes eclampsia which is often fatal and leads to multiple organ failure such as kidney failure that causes water retention in body, liver failure, blood and distorted vision, development of HELP Syndrome, placental abruption leading to birth complications and lastly death.

Not much is known as to why Gestation high blood pressure or pre- eclampsia is developed but many believe that stress is a major factor to its development and further progression. Some also suggest that it is as a result of a shallowly implanted placenta hence an immune reaction is formed against the growing foetus.

Well, have you been stressed of late and you are pregnant? Find a way of curbing this monster before it is too late.

Article source: https://www.zakenya.com/Health-and-Fitness/21-Pre-Eclampsia-the-Silent-Death-Trap-for-Pregnant-Women.html