Preeclampsia

Ways to Identify Preeclampsia
Pregnancy

Three Promises Moms-to-Be Must Make to Themselves

Here's a post from our partners at BabyCenter!
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Here's a post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we bring you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post about preventing preeclampsia.

When Anita Padilla of the FOX Chicago Morning News Team was pregnant, she didn’t feel well. But because she had always heard about the ugly symptoms of pregnancy, it didn’t occur to her that something may be wrong. She just chalked it up to regular pregnancy pain and did her best to deal with it.

Turns out, she was suffering from Preeclampsia, a sometimes fatal disorder that is found in one out of 12 pregnant women today. She went on to deliver a happy, healthy baby, but only because it was caught in time.

Related: How to teach your children to mind their manners

Last week, my mom and I participated in the Chicago Promise Walk with Anita, who emceed the event as a way to help spread the word. The Promise Walk is an annual nationwide fundraiser hosted by The Preeclampsia Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing maternal and infant illness and death due to Preeclampsia.

We walked alongside survivors as well as families who have lost wives, sisters, sons, daughters and mothers to Preeclampsia.

Being in the midst of this made this so much more real to me. I can’t imagine how heartbreaking it must be when one of the best days of your life turns into a living nightmare.

It was heart-wrenching to see children planting pinwheel flowers in the ground to honor the living survivors and remember those lost. One of the flowers had the name Shelly Warner Bridgewater written on it. I learned later that Shelly passed away in 2005, one week after delivering her daughter Hailey seven weeks early.

Keep reading to see the three promises moms-to-be must make.

Common Pregnancy Complications
Pregnancy

6 Common Pregnancy Complaints

Pregnancy is an exciting time, but it's not always complication free.
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Common Pregnancy Complications

Pregnancy is an exciting time, but it's not always complication free. Many women deal with physical and emotional effects that range from mild nausea to dangerous high blood pressure. Some can be treated with a glass of water, while other more serious complications require a trip to the doctor or hospital. Keep reading for six common afflictions of mamas-to-be.

Hyperemesis gravidarum Gestational diabetes Miscarriage Depression Preeclampsia Low amniotic fluid
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Signs of Preeclampsia
Health and Fitness

Induction of Preeclamptic Women Reduces C-Section Risk

Should women with preeclampsia set a delivery date?
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Should women with preeclampsia set a delivery date? Expectant mothers suffering from the pregnancy condition, which is often detected by high blood pressure and protein in the urine, benefit from an early delivery according to a new study. Researchers following 756 women in the Netherlands found that inducing labor in preeclamptic women at 37 weeks gestation – either via hormones and breaking of the water sac – greatly reduced the risk of severely high blood pressure and decreased the use of cesarean sections in the delivery. Doctors are now calling for inductions of such patients to be become standard practice. A very serious condition, expectant mamas should be aware of the signs of preeclampsia. To see what they are, read more

Postpartum Preeclampsia
Health and Fitness

How to Spot Signs of Postpartum Preeclampsia

Following the birth of a child, the body goes through some more miraculous changes.
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Following the birth of a child, the body goes through some more miraculous changes. From the shrinking of the uterus to the production of milk, our bodies are truly amazing. Each woman's body reacts differently to birth and it is to these differences that we must pay attention. While some women experience the signs of preeclampsia during pregnancy – swelling, high blood pressure, and protein in urine — others do not until after the birth.

Postpartum preeclampsia is a serious but controllable condition that can occur in women who did not experience any of the signs while pregnant. The condition usually comes in the 48 hours after birth but can take up to six weeks to appear.

According to the Mayo Clinic:

Signs and symptoms of postpartum preeclampsia include severe, persistent headaches and blurry vision. The cause isn't well understood. Although postpartum preeclampsia is a serious condition that requires prompt medical attention, it is usually short-lived. With proper treatment, blood pressure usually returns to normal within a few days or weeks with no long-term adverse effects.

Women who notice postpartum swelling of their feet, as well as high blood pressure and headaches should contact their doctors immediately. If the condition is not treated quickly, it can lead to seizures and hypertension. While treatment is usually simple, it needs to be started as soon as possible.

Did you experience postpartum preeclampsia, and what did you do to resolve the issue?

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Preeclampsia
Pregnancy

What Do You Know About Preeclampsia?

Preeclampsia is a term that pregnant women hear often but rarely know what it means until it is something they have to manage.
by babysugar

Preeclampsia is a term that pregnant women hear often but rarely know what it means until it is something they have to manage. In a perfect world, no mother-to-be would have to worry about the medical issue, but it does affect a small percentage of all pregnancies.

Take my test to see if you know your preeclampsia facts.

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