One of the serious dangers facing pregnant women is preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is hypertension caused by pregnancy. The only cure for preeclampsia is delivery of the baby. In the United States, the condition effects up to eight percent of all women who are in their second or third trimesters of pregnancy.
Preeclampsia is a serious condition and it if is not caught early during regular prenatal visits, the mother and child are at serious risk for injury or fatality. It is the responsibility of the doctor to provide reasonable care to a pregnant mother. This includes monitoring them for symptoms of preeclampsia.
The symptoms of preeclampsia are:
• Headaches that are severe and which occur in the back of the head
• Face and hands swell
• Upper abdomen pain
• Nausea
• Weight gain
• Blood pressure that is higher than 140 over 90
Many of the symptoms listed above can occur during a normal pregnancy, so it is very important that pregnant women have a doctor to monitoring the pregnancy during regular office visits. By testing blood pressure and looking for proteins in urine samples, a doctor will be able to determine if a pregnant woman is at risk for preeclampsia.
In the past, preeclampsia was referred to as toxemia.
The only way to manage preeclampsia is through bed rest, which lowers blood pressure and increases the flow of blood to the placenta.
If a doctor properly treats preeclampsia, the pregnant women can deliver their child without any adverse side effects. If a doctor does not catch preeclampsia, or does not treat it properly, it can lead to eclampsia, which can cause seizures and strokes in a pregnant woman. If a doctor does not reasonably monitor a pregnant mother and, as a result, she becomes seriously ill, a birth injury attorney may be contacted.
Risks factors for preeclampsia include:
• Extremely young or old age during pregnancy
• First time pregnancies
• Women who are pregnant with multiples
• Women who have a history of high-blood pressure
• Women who have a history of diabetes
• Women who are over weight
There is no known cause for preeclampsia. A birth trauma lawyer can give you more information.
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