How do you treat mild preeclampsia?
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Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication characterized primarily by high blood pressure , edema,and protein spillage in the urine-- occurring frequently after the 20th week of pregnancy or after giving birth.Most pregnant women with preeclampsia have healthy babies. But if not treated, it can cause serious problems, like premature birth and even death.If you’re at risk for preeclampsia, your provider may want you take low-dose aspirin to help prevent it.If you have blurred vision, swelling in your hands and face or severe headaches or belly pain, call your provider right away.You can have preeclampsia and not know it, so go to all of your prenatal care visits, even if you’re feeling fine.What is preeclampsia? Preeclampsia is a serious blood pressure condition that can happen after the 20th week of pregnancy or after giving birth (called postpartum preeclampsia). It’s when a woman has high blood pressure and signs that some of her organs, like her kidneys and liver, may not be working normally. Blood pressure is the force of blood that pushes against the walls of your arteries. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from your heart to other parts of the body. High blood pressure (also called hypertension) is when the force of blood against the walls of the blood vessels is too high. It can stress your heart and cause problems during pregnancy. Preeclampsia is a serious health problem for women around the world. It affects 2 to 8 percent of pregnancies worldwide (2 to 8 in 100). In the United States, it’s the cause of 15 percent (about 3 in 20) of premature births. Premature birth is birth that happens too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Most women with preeclampsia have healthy babies. But if not treated, it can cause severe health problems for you and your baby. Can taking low-dose aspirin help reduce your risk for preeclampsia and premature birth? For some women, yes. If your provider thinks you’re at risk for preeclampsia, he may want you to take low-dose aspirin to help prevent it. Low-dose aspirin also is called baby aspirin or 81 mg (milligrams) aspirin. Talk to your provider to see if treatment with low-dose aspirin is right for you. You can buy low-dose aspirin over-the-counter, or your provider can give you a prescription for it. A prescription is an order for medicine from your provider. If your provider wants you to take low-dose aspirin to help prevent preeclampsia, take it exactly as she tells you to. Don’t take more or take it more often than your provider says. If you’re at high risk for preeclampsia, your provider may want you to start taking low-dose aspirin after 12 weeks of pregnancy. Or your provider may ask you to take low-dose aspirin if you have diabetes or high blood pressure. If your provider asks you to take low-dose aspirin, take it as recommended. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (also called ACOG), daily low-dose aspirin use in pregnancy has a low risk of serious complications and its use is considered safe. Are you at risk for preeclampsia? We don’t know for sure what causes preeclampsia, but there are some things that may make you more likely than other women to have it. These are called risk factors. If you have even one risk factor for preeclampsia, tell your provider. You’re at high risk for preeclampsia If:
Other risk factors for preeclampsia:
What are the signs and symptoms of preeclampsia? Signs of a condition are things someone else can see or know about you, like you have a rash or you’re coughing. Symptoms are things you feel yourself that others can’t see, like having a sore throat or feeling dizzy. Signs and symptoms of preeclampsia include:
Many of these signs and symptoms are common discomforts of pregnancy. If you have even one sign or symptom, call your provider right away. How can preeclampsia affect you and your baby? Without treatment, preeclampsia can cause serious health problems for you and your baby, even death. You may have preeclampsia and not know it, so be sure to go to all your prenatal care checkups, even if you’re feeling fine. If you have any sign or symptom of preeclampsia, tell your provider. Health problems for women who have preeclampsia include:
Pregnancy complications from preeclampsia include:
Having preeclampsia increases your risk for postpartum hemorrhage (also called PPH). PPH is heavy bleeding after giving birth. It’s a rare condition, but if not treated, it can lead to shock and death. Shock is when your body’s organs don’t get enough blood flow. Having preeclampsia increases your risk for heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease later in life/ How is preeclampsia diagnosed? To diagnose preeclampsia, your provider measures your blood pressure and tests your urine for protein at every prenatal visit. Additional lab work evaluating your blood count, clotting factors, liver and kidney function are also assessed. Your provider may check your baby’s health with:
Treatment depends on how severe your preeclampsia is and how far along you are in your pregnancy. Even if you have mild preeclampsia, you need treatment to make sure it doesn’t get worse. How is mild preeclampsia treated? Most women with mild preeclampsia are delivered by 37 weeks of pregnancy .If you have mild preeclampsia before 37 weeks:
How is severe preeclampsia treated? If you have severe preeclampsia, you most likely stay in the hospital so your provider can closely monitor you and your baby. Your provider may treat you with medicines called antenatal corticosteroids (also called ACS). These medicines help speed up your baby’s lung development. You also may get medicine to control your blood pressure and medicine to prevent seizures (called magnesium sulfate). If your condition gets worse, it may be safer for you and your baby to give birth early. Most babies of moms with severe preeclampsia before 34 weeks of pregnancy do better in the hospital than by staying in the womb. If you’re at least 34 weeks pregnant, your provider may recommend that you have your baby as soon as your condition is stable. Your provider may induce your labor, or you may have a c-section. If you’re not yet 34 weeks pregnant but you and your baby are stable, you may be able to wait to have your baby. If you have severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, you almost always need to give birth early. HELLP syndrome is a rare but life-threatening liver disorder. About 2 in 10 women (20 percent) with severe preeclampsia develop HELLP syndrome. You may need medicine to control your blood pressure and prevent seizures. Some women may need blood transfusions. A blood transfusion means you have new blood put into your body. If you have preeclampsia, can you have a vaginal birth? Yes. If you have preeclampsia, a vaginal birth may be better than a cesarean birth (also called c-section). A c-section is surgery in which your baby is born through a cut that your doctor makes in your belly and uterus. With vaginal birth, there's no stress from surgery. For most women with preeclampsia, it’s safe have an epidural to manage labor pain as long as your blood clots normally. An epidural is pain medicine you get through a tube in your lower back that helps numb your lower body during labor. It's the most common kind of pain relief during labor. What is postpartum preeclampsia? Postpartum preeclampsia is a rare condition. It’s when you have preeclampsia after you’ve given birth. It most often happens within 48 hours (2 days) of having a baby, but it can develop up to 6 weeks after a baby’s birth. It’s just as dangerous as preeclampsia during pregnancy and needs immediate treatment. If not treated, it can cause life-threatening problems, including death. Signs and symptoms of postpartum preeclampsia are like those of preeclampsia. It can be hard for you to know if you have signs and symptoms after pregnancy because you’re focused on caring for your baby. If you do have signs or symptoms, tell your provider right away. We don’t know exactly what causes postpartum preeclampsia, but these may be possible risk factors:
Complications from postpartum preeclampsia include these life-threatening conditions:
Your provider uses blood and urine tests to diagnose postpartum preeclampsia. Treatment can include magnesium sulfate to prevent seizures and medicine to help lower your blood pressure. Medicine to prevent seizures also is called anticonvulsive medicine. If you’re breastfeeding, talk to your provider to make sure these medicines are safe for your baby. Reviewed October 2020 How serious is mild preeclampsia?Preeclampsia puts stress on your heart and other organs and can cause serious complications. It can also affect the blood supply to your placenta, impair liver and kidney function or cause fluid to build up in your lungs. The protein in your urine is a sign of kidney dysfunction.
Can you go home with mild preeclampsia?If your preeclampsia is mild, you may be able to stay at home on bed rest. You will need to have frequent checkups and tests. The severity of preeclampsia may change quickly, so you'll need very careful follow-up.
What happens if I have mild preeclampsia?Most women with mild preeclampsia after 37 weeks of pregnancy don't have serious health problems. If you have mild preeclampsia before 37 weeks: Your provider checks your blood pressure and urine regularly. She may want you to stay in the hospital to monitor you closely.
How long can you go with mild preeclampsia?Sign and symptoms of preeclampsia most often go away within 6 weeks after delivery. However, the high blood pressure sometimes gets worse the first few days after delivery. You are still at risk for preeclampsia for up to 6 weeks after delivery. This postpartum preeclampsia carries a higher risk of death.
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