COMPLICATIONS OF PREGNANCY: HYPERTENSIVE DISEASE OF PREGNANCY

MAY 19TH, 2009
By ADMIN

Cause

The cause of hypertensive disease of pregnancy is not well understood although it affects 5% of pregnant women.

Clinical features

It is usually diagnosed during the latter stages of pregnancy, and is characterised by the presence of high blood pressure together with fluid retention. If the condition is left untreated protein will appear in the urine. The danger of hypertensive disease of pregnancy is that it can lead to rapid degeneration of the placenta. As the placenta supplies all nutrients to the baby, this leads to a risk of the baby being born prematurely. If the baby is still immature it may not be able to survive outside the womb. The other risk is the progression of the condition to eclampsia, which affects the mother. Eclampsia is characterised by convulsions and in the worst case may lead to coma.

Treatment

The treatment of hypertensive disease of pregnancy is primarily bed rest. If you have markedly high blood pressure, your doctor may advise a short stay in hospital where close monitoring can continue until the condition is brought under control. Where mothers have hypertensive disease of pregnancy, labour is often induced. Those mothers who have full-blown eclampsia usually have a Caesarian section to end the pregnancy for their own and their baby’s safety.