Table of Contents
How does high blood pressure occur during pregnancy?
Many women already had high blood pressure before they became pregnant. For others, however, a possible cause is the metabolic change in the body. Women who are very overweight and have high blood pressure patients in their family also have an increased risk of developing high blood pressure during pregnancy. It is therefore important to ensure a healthy diet and a healthy weight even before pregnancy.
Kidney disease in the mother also plays a major role. High blood pressure can also be caused by a malformation in the unborn child. However, this is an extremely rare cause.
If you consider that from the 6th month of pregnancy an additional 1.5 l of blood is pumped through the body of the pregnant woman, high blood pressure from this point on is not surprising. So the mother-to-be shouldn’t worry too much right away
What to do if you have high blood pressure during pregnancy?
When it comes to just high blood pressure, control is key. Of course, you should eat healthily and avoid nicotine and alcohol. But all this is taken to heart by every woman during pregnancy. Most women who get high blood pressure during pregnancy don’t have much of a problem with it either. Resting a little more, like in “normal” times, and taking everything a little slower can be enough here. From a certain point in pregnancy, a slightly elevated blood pressure is quite normal. In most cases, this is also completely harmless for mother and child. But of course there are exceptions.
Risks that can arise from high blood pressure
The first thing to mention here is preelampsia. A life-threatening condition for both mother and child. Due to the increased protein excretion in the urine, neurological symptoms can occur in the mother. Preelampia can be recognized by increased accumulation of water in the tissue. Swelling of the face, hands and feet can also occur. The blood pressure is permanently too high – for example 140 to 90mmHg. Nausea and vomiting can also occur. Many women then also suffer from confusion and blurred vision. This is a very threatening condition that needs immediate treatment in a clinic. In most cases, you will be admitted to the hospital as an inpatient. If only for the reason that pre-elampsia requires close monitoring.
The pregnant woman should eat a protein-rich dietand drink enough fluids. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to administer antihypertensive drugs. Most of these drugs are problematic for the child’s development. If the unborn child develops stress reactions during CTG, the pregnant woman is given medication that stimulates the baby’s lungs to mature. Surely one tries to keep the pregnancy as long as possible, but in many cases this is unfortunately not possible. The woman then has to give birth at an early stage, usually by caesarean section. However, this complication always depends on the time of pregnancy. If preelampsia begins early in pregnancy, it is likely to be severe. The later this happens, the better it is for mother and child.
However, if you have high risk factors, you can prevent it. The pregnant woman should then take a low dose of ASA in early pregnancy, up to the 16th week of pregnancy. You should definitely discuss this with your doctor. This can prevent or at least mitigate pre-elampsia.
Conclusion
Anyone who had an eye on their health before pregnancy did good preparatory work. A healthy diet, avoiding nicotine, little alcohol and moderate physical activity are good prerequisites for a relaxed pregnancy. Of course, some risk factors cannot be switched off so easily. Genetic predisposition can play a role, and kidney disease or diabetes are also not that easy to prevent. The most important things are always regular check-ups at the gynecologist and taking a little care of yourself.
