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Further, a symptom such as epigastric pain may be misinterpreted as heartburn. Common features of pre-eclampsia which are screened for during pre-natal visits include elevated blood pressure and excess protein in the urine. Additionally, some women may develop severe headache as a sign of pre-eclampsia. [22]
Generally, in mothers with preeclampsia, labor is induced once the gestational age is >37 weeks. [13] In patients with preeclampsia with severe features or eclampsia, labor is induced once the gestational age is >34 weeks. [13] In patients with gestational hypertension and no other signs of severe disease, labor is generally induced at term. [13]
Eclampsia is the onset of seizures (convulsions) in a woman with pre-eclampsia. [1] Pre-eclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that presents with three main features: new onset of high blood pressure, large amounts of protein in the urine or other organ dysfunction, and edema.
[3] [4] While high blood pressure treatment has been shown to decrease the incidence of severe hypertension during pregnancy, there was no significant difference in pregnancy complications (for example, superimposed pre-eclampsia, stillbrith/neonatal death, small for gestational age). [5]
Severe pre-eclampsia involves a blood pressure greater than 160/110, with additional medical signs and symptoms. HELLP syndrome is a type of pre-eclampsia. It is a combination of three medical conditions: hemolytic anemia, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count. [citation needed] Eclampsia
HELLP syndrome occurs in about 0.7% of pregnancies and affects about 15% of women with eclampsia or severe pre-eclampsia. [5] [2] Death of the mother is uncommon (< 1%). [1] [3] Outcomes in the babies are generally related to how premature they are at birth. [1] The syndrome was first named in 1982 by American gynaecologist Louis Weinstein. [2]
A high-risk pregnancy is a pregnancy where the mother or the fetus has an increased risk of adverse outcomes compared to uncomplicated pregnancies. No concrete guidelines currently exist for distinguishing “high-risk” pregnancies from “low-risk” pregnancies; however, there are certain studied conditions that have been shown to put the mother or fetus at a higher risk of poor outcomes. [1]
Trials using low-dose aspirin, fish oil, vitamin C and E, and calcium to reduce preeclampsia demonstrated some reduction in preterm birth only when low-dose aspirin was used. [95] Even if agents such as calcium or antioxidants were able to reduce preeclampsia, a resulting decrease in preterm birth was not observed.