Guest Post // Pre-Eclampsia

Pre-Eclampsia is a confusing one.. I know I had ignored my warning signs for a few weeks & it was only at a routine MW appointment it was discovered. It can be really hard to tell what's normal & what's not...often swollen feet, headaches & nausea are part and parcel of being pregnant. So it's always good to clue yourself up on other symptoms and signs & if you have a few of them go see your MW.

Pre-Eclampsia is a condition that only occurs during pregnancy - to put it simply it is 'disease of the placenta' & the only cure is delivery of the baby & placenta.

Some warning signs of Pre-E that you can look out for yourself are;

- swelling of the feet/hands
- headaches
- nausea/vomiting
- abdominal/shoulder pain
- lower back pain
- sudden weight gain
- shortness of breath
- changes in vision

Other symptoms that you may not necessarily know about but may be picked up at a MW appointment are;
- protein in urine
- high blood pressure

Many of these symptoms are normal in pregnancy - I know I had swelling, headaches, vomiting, lower back pain, shortness of breath, changes in my vision (I was having black spots & floaters) & non of these particularly worried me-in the later stages of pregnancy I just thought it was to be expected! It really is important to catch Pre-E though as if it is left untreated it can turn into Eclampsia which leads to seizures & (not to use scare tactics but) is life threatening for Mummy & baby.

People that are more at risk of Pre-Eclampsia are;

- first time mums
- women who have previously had pre-eclampsia
- women that have blood clotting disorders
- having a close relative that had Pre-E
- being over weight
- women that are carrying twins/triplets... Or more
- being over 40

I was bang on 40 weeks when my Midwife discovered I had Pre-Eclampsia so the sensible & safe option for me was to be induced & deliver my baby. My blood pressure continued to rise even after delivery of Mini Meldrum & it took 3 days in hospital to stabilise it & a 6 further weeks of medication (& weekly dr's visits) to keep it at a safe level.

Hopefully this time round I will avoid Pre-E but I will be looking out for any warning signs & visiting my MW straight away should any arise. I hope after reading this that you will do the same!

Today's Guest Post was written by Rebecca from Mrs Meldrum, such an informative post. I sufffered too. You can view her blog here, Twitter here and BlogLovin here. If you would like to write a post for us, please contact via twitter or email thank you :)