Pre-eclampsia has been known by many different names around the world. It has been called toxaemia, pre-eclamptic toxaemia (PET), pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH), hypertensive disease of pregnancy (HDP), metabolic toxaemia of late pregnancy (MTLP) and even gestosis.
There are several types of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), high blood pressure, HBP, that affect pregnant women. Some types of HBP start before pregnancy, while the others are developing during pregnancy.
This is serious medical condition and all types of high blood pressure in pregnancy can pose risks to the pregnant woman and her baby. Fortunately, problems usually can be managed with proper prenatal care.
At each prenatal visit, the health care provider measures blood pressure. Blood pressure varies (can go up and down) during the day and health care providers often re-check a high reading to determine if a woman truly has high blood pressure.
What forms of high blood pressure occur in pregnancy?
There are four main forms of high blood pressure in pregnancy:
1. Preeclampsia: This potentially serious disorder is characterized by high blood pressure and protein in the urine. It usually develops after the 20th week of pregnancy and goes away after delivery.
2. Gestational hypertension: This form of high blood pressure develops after the 20th week of pregnancy and goes away after delivery. Affected women do not have protein in the urine. However, some women with gestational hypertension develop preeclampsia later in pregnancy.
3. Chronic hypertension: This is high blood pressure that is diagnosed before pregnancy or before the 20th week of pregnancy. It does not go away after delivery.
4. Chronic hypertension with preeclampsia: About 25 percent of women with chronic hypertension also develop preeclampsia.
Who Is More Likely to Develop Preeclampsia?
* Women with chronic hypertension (high blood pressure before becoming pregnant).
* Women who developed high blood pressure or preeclampsia during a previous pregnancy, especially if these conditions occurred early in the pregnancy.
* Women who are obese prior to pregnancy.
* Pregnant women under the age of 20 or over the age of 40.
* Women who are pregnant with more than one baby.
* Women with diabetes, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or scleroderma.
How Preeclampsia, pregnancy induced high blood pressure, is Detected?
Although most antenatal tests are designed specifically to look for signs of pre-eclampsia, nearly 30 per cent of cases are first detected in labour, either because they were missed by antenatal screening or because the condition did not manifest until then.
Unfortunately, there is no single test to predict or diagnose pre-eclampsia. The first indication which doctors look for is hypertension (raised blood pressure).
Key signs are:
* Increased blood pressure
* protein in the urine (proteinuria)
Other symptoms that seem to occur with preeclampsia includepersistent headaches, blurred vision or sensitivity to light, and abdominal pain.
All of these sensations can be caused by other disorders; they can also occur in healthy pregnancies.
Regular visits with doctor can help pregnant woman to track blood pressure and level of protein in urine, to order and analyze blood tests that detect signs of preeclampsia, and to monitor fetal development more closely.