What do you mean by Pre-eclampsia?
Pre-eclampsia is a condition experienced by many women during pregnancy. The common symptoms of pre-eclampsia are swelling in legs and hands, nausea and vomiting, weight gain often accompanied by high blood pressure, mood swings and hypertension. Usually a pregnant woman faces pre-eclampsia at a later stage in her pregnancy, probably after the fifth month of her pregnancy.
Generally, women who are not medically fit and have suffered problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney diseases or menstruation problems in past or are having a late pregnancy that is after the age of 40, are prone to pre-eclampsia.
Risks involved with pre-eclampsia
If pre-eclampsia is not detected and treated timely, it can cause severe complications in the delivery of the baby. It directly affects baby's health and body weight as it prevents the baby from getting enough air or food through the placenta. This is because it causes your blood vessels to swell and contract, making the flow of essential nutrients and air and water to flow, though with ease.
Pre-eclampsia cannot be ignored, because it can later develop into eclampsia, which can be very serious threat to your and your child's life. Pre-eclampsia can cause the child to be born unhealthy. The complications that come along include learning disabilities, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and hearing and vision problems.
Who is at risk?
It is most likely to occur, if you are
Pregnant for the first time
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Overweight
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Pregnant with twins or triplets
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Conceiving too early or too late
Precautions and Cure
The only safest way to cure pre-eclampsia is to abort or deliver the child. If pre-eclampsia is not very serious, then a woman can continue with her pregnancy and deliver her baby normally. In case the problem is very serious, premature delivery of the baby takes place.
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Hypertension and blood pressure problems can be sometimes controlled by proper medication.
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Certain exercises, meditation and yoga can also prove to be useful in controlling hypertension. Yoga can also help in proper passage of blood and other nutrients through the blood vessels.
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Sometimes, if the problem of pre-eclampsia becomes serious, then the woman can be stabilized with the help of magnesium sulphate injections to avoid eclampsia-related seizures.
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Increasing healthy fluid intake and regular yoga and exercises (specialized for pregnant ladies) can prove to be extremely helpful in preventing preclampsia.
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Increasing the intake of vitamin D, calcium, magnesium and other important nutrient from the beginning may also help in preventing the risks of pre-eclampsia.
There is no defined cure for pre-eclampsia. However, knowing about it and trying to minimize its risk, following a proper diet, remaining happy and healthy and performing regular yoga and exercises are the best ways to prevent pre-eclampsia and bringing a healthy child in the world without any complications.