Preeclampsia is a health complication in pregnancy. Find out what it is. *
Medicine has always tried to find the cause of this dreaded complication, to try to avoid it, to prevent it and to treat it in an efficient way. Unfortunately it has not been possible. That is why it has been called the “disease of a thousand theories”. To date, no explanation has been found that completely satisfies, all its clinical manifestations, or all its consequences. Probably one of the most respected complications, by all specialists in gynecology and obstetrics, is preeclampsia. Why? Because it is a pathology that can occur in the second half of gestation, in any woman, at any time, and without apparently any risk factor that can predict it.
Of course, there are certain factors that may lead one to think that a woman may be at greater risk of presenting it, for example, if she has gained excessive body weight during pregnancy (it is considered an ideal weight gain of 10 to 12 kilos throughout pregnancy) If it is your first pregnancy or if you had preeclampsia in your previous pregnancy, or if in the second trimester, in a special ultrasound test called Doppler evaluation of the uterine artery, you will find values not considered normal, if it is a multiple pregnancy, etc. . If a patient has some of these factors present, she is a patient at risk for preeclampsia. But, it happens occasionally, that perfectly normal patients, with no apparent risk factor, develop the complication. Of course, that proportionally speaking, it is expected that patients with the risk factors mentioned, are much more likely to present the problem.
What is preeclampsia then? It is a complication of pregnancy that is basically characterized by an increase in blood pressure above the values considered normal (values greater than 140/90). What consequences can it have? In its most serious and serious manifestations, it can cause the death of the mother and the child or cause consequences for the rest of its existence if it is not detected in time or treated properly at the right time.
Usually occurs in a gradual way; That is, the patient is gaining weight more than the count, the pressure is rising progressively, the baby is not gaining the right weight for his gestation age and therefore, in the periodic prenatal control, the specialist, can anticipate Complications and take appropriate actions to control the situation or eventually interrupt the pregnancy if it is considered that there is more risk to the mother and the fetus if the pregnancy continues.
Preeclampsia in Peru is one of the three most common causes of death in women during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium. The other causes are bleeding and infections.
Can anything be done to prevent preeclampsia?
Yes, you should be clearly aware of the importance of prenatal care. Since pregnancy control, from the beginning of gestation has proven to be the most appropriate tool to try to avoid problems. But, despite all the efforts that are made to try to avoid it and treat it, sometimes this complication of pregnancy, can occur without warning, with no apparent risk factor; Hence the vital importance that every pregnancy is always guided, treated and controlled closely by a properly trained health professional.
* Written by Antonio Ciudad, taken from the Peruvian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
