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I thought since i suffered from pre- eclampsia and several of my family did i would share some information and experiences with regards to it but I would say that if you are pregnant and worried that you may have it then go straight to the midwife, doctor i did
as it is better to be safe.
Pre eclampsia only happens in pregnancy and can develop into eclampsia which can be fatal for mother and babies but with good medical care the development into eclampsia does not often occur. Pre eclampsia can lead to the baby being born premature and the only cure is delivery. People who are at a higher risk are first time mothers, over 40's, and those who have a family history of pre eclampsia.
There are many symptoms the first that I knew of was when i went to the mid wife for a routine check and they found that there was protein in the urine. They did tests as it could just be an infection and not a symptom of pre eclampsia. In my case as I had several other symptoms it was the start of pre eclampsia. The protein shows up as the kidneys stop functioning correctly.
Another symptom was high blood pressure mine started low at the start of the pregnancy but at 30 weeks had raised sharply and continued to stay high this can be controlled with medication. Dizzy spells, fainting, seeing flashy lights ( although i saw black cobwebs) are another sign of pre eclampsia i was told this was caused by the high blood pressure.
Prolonged head aches this is a noticeable symptom i had constant head aches which i thought were because i was just tired but these were again linked to the pre eclampsia.
I was kept in hospital for a few days then i had to come back every day to be monitered to make sure nothing got worse. I had regular scans as the main effect is that the baby can stop growing as they are not getting enough nutrients. For me I was lucky and this did not happen until 40 week scan and then an induction was booked. ( little man was born day before that anyway) he was 4 days overdue and ended up weighing 5lb10).
Sometimes the doctors can be very overwhelming and to be honest i felt that they were trying to scare us. One nurse would say one thing and then another something else. There are some good support networks online and it felt better for me to have some information from other who had experienced this and also some factual advice.
I hope this can be of some help.
(January 2007) (
