Pre-eclampsia

Written By Guest User

“Just as everyone who has a headache doesn’t have a brain tumor, every pregnant woman with high blood pressure, preoteinuria, and swelling doesn’t have toxemia. If the diet is good and she feels great, a woman may have many signs of “pre-eclampsia” and be fine!”

-Holistic Midwifery by Anne Fye

Being diagnosed for pre-eclampsia does not have to be scary. In fact, most of the time, pre-eclampsia is over-diagnosed in a healthy, low-risk mom for no reason. Pre-eclampsia is a sign of an extremely under-nourished mom who is placing extreme stress on her kidneys and liver. While you may have signs of pre-eclampsia, this is no reason for an induction unless the signs of pre-eclampsia begin to affect a mom’s well-being in pregnancy. An unneccesary induction will do more harm than good for a mom who was diagnosed with a disease based on symptoms, rather than the actual well-being of the mother.

Below is some information to help you see if you are truly experiencing pre-eclampsia or if your symptoms are benign.

Some signs that suggest all is well:

  • Hemoglobin should NOT be rising unless you were very anemic in the beginning. The hematocrit should fall proportionately

  • You should have a healthy placenta and healthy heartbeat in baby

  • Healthy weight gain (5-10 pounds in the second trimester)

  • Drop in blood pressure around 28 weeks

  • Intermittent swelling and vaicose veins

  • An absence of nausea and a general sense of well-being and nourishment

  • Abnormal swelling and leg cramps may be due to a low salt intake or high volume exercise

Some signs that usually come from true pre-eclampsia:

  • Poor weight gain in a woman who was thin and underweight before pregnancy

  • Frequent headaches, blackouts, waking at night from hypoglycemia

  • A rising hemoglobin or hematocrit higher than 12-13 gm (unless the woman lives at a high altitude)

  • A plateau in belly growth, a small baby is a sign that the mom is under-nourished

  • No change or slight rise in blood pressure mid-pregnancy. Again, consider all possible variables that may affect blood pressure; blood pressure is a poor criteria to use alone. When significant blood pressure changes occure, they often do not present until a contracted blood volume is well established

  • Peeing infrequently or having little to pee out

  • Protein in the urine. The majority of protein in the urine is due to vaginal discharge, UTI’s, or is benign.

  • No change in weight gain from 24-28 weeks

  • Persistent swelling that doesn’t change throughout the day

  • Serum albumin is below 3

  • Elevated liver enzymes

  • Lymphocytes below 15%

  • A drop in platelet count

  • Blurred vision

  • Nausea, vomiting and generally feeling unwell

Sources:

Holistic midwifery Volume 1 by Anne Frye

Guest User
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