Five things to know about preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is pregnancy-related high blood pressure condition. It can happen to any pregnant person and typically occurs in the second half of pregnancy or in the days or weeks following birth. Unrecognized, it can be life threatening to both the birthing parent and the baby.
Preeclampsia can cause symptoms like:
- New swelling of the face, hands, or feet
- Gaining more than five pounds in a week
- Headaches
- Blurred vision or seeing spots
- Stomach pain
- Feeling nauseous or throwing up
Some people won’t notice symptoms at all.
“A lot of changes happen to the body during pregnancy, and symptoms of preeclampsia can overlap with normal pregnancy symptoms,” said Bethany Sabol, MD, MAS, a maternal and fetal medicine physician with M Health Fairview and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “People can't feel their blood pressure going up, so being aware of these symptoms knowing that this might not be normal, and then getting their blood pressure evaluated can help us detect the disease early.”
Early detection and care can help improve outcomes for parents and babies. Sabol tells us five things to know about preeclampsia.
There’s no cure for preeclampsia.
Preeclampsia and other high blood pressure disorders of pregnancy affect about 1 in 7 pregnancies. It occurs when a pregnant or someone who recently delivered a baby develops blood pressure higher than 140/90 mmHG.
Preeclampsia is associated with high levels of protein in the urine or new decreasing blood platelets, trouble with the kidney or liver, or signs of fluid on the lungs or seizures, headaches, or visual disturbances.
When a pregnant person has preeclampsia, it can also impact the blood flow to the placenta, putting the baby at risk of growing small, having a stillbirth, or delivering prematurely. To help diagnose preeclampsia early, healthcare providers check blood pressure at every prenatal visit and discuss the warning signs and symptoms with all pregnant people.
Most people diagnosed with preeclampsia will deliver healthy babies and recover but it can progress quickly with significant risks to the birthing person and her baby. If you’re diagnosed with preeclampsia, your healthcare team will monitor you closely for the rest of your pregnancy.
There’s no cure for preeclampsia. Delivery begins to improve the condition, but patients are still at risk after delivery. People with preeclampsia might be admitted to the hospital for monitoring.
Preeclampsia can lead to preterm births.
While it is possible to have preeclampsia and deliver a healthy, full-term baby, preeclampsia is the leading cause of preterm births, which is giving birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
In some cases of preeclampsia is severe enough that patients need to be admitted to the hospital for monitoring with a goal of continuing pregnancy while carefully balancing the risks to the pregnant person and the health of the baby.
Taking a daily low-dose aspirin, for those at increased risk, has been shown to help reduce the risk of preeclampsia by up to 25%.
Preeclampsia can occur after the baby is born.
While most people with preeclampsia develop it in the last trimester of pregnancy with improvement following delivery, it is important to know that preeclampsia can worsen or develop for the first time after delivery and up to six weeks postpartum. High blood pressure might cause a severe headache, changes to vision, and nausea. New parents might dismiss their symptoms as an expected side effect of caring for a newborn on a lack of sleep, but you should let your care team know if you experience these signs, so you can get checked out quickly.
In 2023, Sabol and her team launched the Home Observation of Postpartum Elevated Blood Pressure (HOPE-BP) program. HOPE-BP gives new parents with a high blood pressure disorder of pregnancy home blood pressure monitoring equipment, so they can go home with their babies and their care teams can continue monitoring their blood pressure. The program helps reduce barriers to care like trips to the clinic. New mom Jill Kaiyalethe credits the program with saving her life.
Preeclampsia is a risk factor for future heart disease.
A misconception about preeclampsia is that after childbirth, the risk goes away. While blood pressure typically goes back to normal levels within the first few days to weeks after birth, a history of preeclampsia increases the likelihood of developing high blood pressure later in life and doubles the risk for heart disease and stroke. This may seem scary but having this diagnosis does not mean heart problems will develop, and we can use this information to make changes that can reduce these risks later in life.
“People who have had preeclampsia should understand that it is a risk factor,” Sabol said.” "They can't control whether or not they get preeclampsia, but once they know that that risk factor exists, they can keep an eye on their blood pressure and engage in heart healthy activities to reduce their risk as much as possible.”
There are also gaps in provider knowledge, particularly among doctors who don’t do obstetrics, in understanding how these risks impact their patients long-term. We are encouraging birthing people to discuss their pregnancy complications with their primary care providers, internal medicine doctors, and cardiologists so these risk factors can be incorporated into their long-term care.
Eclampsia is serious.
Eclampsia is a severe condition that usually involves having high blood pressure-related seizures during pregnancy. It’s rare and usually treatable when caught early. Untreated, eclampsia can lead to brain injury, or coma. Tell your healthcare provider immediately if you experience a severe headache or vision changes during or just after pregnancy.
Support is available.
Preeclampsia can be scary, but healthcare providers with The Birthplace at M Health Fairview have experience caring for people with preeclampsia and can support you if complications arise.
