Preeclampsia is a pregnancy related complication that develops due to high blood pressure. This can cause serious issues in pregnancy and damage to internal organs, if not diagnosed early. If found early, this condition can be managed by your doctor with suitable treatment and increased monitoring.
Preeclampsia usually lasts until delivery and goes away after birthing. Although in some cases, it may take a little while for you to recover from this condition and in rare occurrences, you may develop preeclampsia after the birth of your baby.
Signs of preeclampsia
Pregnant women do not show any particular symptoms of being affected with this condition most of the times. Increased blood pressure is often considered as one of the first indicators of preeclampsia. However, hypertension may not always point to preeclampsia, but may also indicate some other condition. Know about the risks of hypertension in pregnancy here. Your doctor takes a note of your BP every time you visit for your prenatal checkups. Increased protein in urine may also suggest having preeclampsia.
How to prevent preeclampsia?
Preeclampsia is mostly known to start in the mid second trimester, but may also show up anytime during pregnancy. You may not have high BP symptoms earlier, but may still develop this condition either suddenly or few months over time. It may not be possible to prevent this altogether, but there are few things you can do to avoid being affected with preeclampsia.
- Avoid salt or have salt in very less amounts during pregnancy
- Increase your water intake
- Avoid junk food
- Avoid consumption of alcohol
- Avoid caffeinated drinks
- Get sufficient rest
- Rest your feet on a stool or pillow when sitting or lying down
- Sleep more onto your left side to avoid putting pressure on major blood vessels
- Follow a healthy diet and exercise routine
- Take your prenatal supplements regularly as prescribed by your doctor
You should never skip your regular visits to your doctor and do as advised. Also, if you notice any changes that feel odd, you should bring this to your doctor’s notice, because getting things clear is better than taking risks, which might affect you and your baby. You know your body well, so you should have clarity about what are regular pregnancy symptoms and what can be potentially harmful.
