With pregnancy, it is important to remember that things may not turn out the way that you had intended. I learned this during my first pregnancy, and I experienced it again during my most recent pregnancy. When I was pregnant with my first son, I developed preeclampsia towards the end of the pregnancy. I began to show signs of it before I was to term, but fortunately the symptoms did not present fully until about ten days before my due date. Preeclampsia is a medical condition where a pregnant woman’s blood pressure rises suddenly and other symptoms including protein in … Continue reading →

Researchers are developing a blood test that might identify a woman’s risk for preeclampsia early on during her pregnancy, according to an article featured in Businessweek. This is great news for moms who have a family history or a personal history with the disease and are especially concerned over whether they can expect to develop preeclampsia near the end of their pregnancy. The test uses metabolic profiling to identify certain biomarkers in the blood that give away a woman’s level of risk for developing preeclampsia later on. Researchers identified fourteen metabolic targets to watch for signs of preeclampsia risk. Researchers … Continue reading →

Researchers say that women who have experienced preeclampsia have an increased risk of thyroid problems later in life. In fact, the researchers suggested that pregnant women who develop preeclampsia should be monitored for decreased thyroid function as they get older. Pregnant women who have preeclampsia during their first and second pregnancies are at even greater risk. The medical explanation for this correlation is tied to increased levels of something called soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 in the body before delivery. Women with preeclampsia showed higher levels of this substance than other women and this substance has been tied to increased … Continue reading →

Preeclampsia is one of the more serious complications of pregnancy, affecting between three and eight percent of all pregnancies, depending on the source. According to the World Health Organization, this condition is responsible for about 19 percent of all maternal deaths. The main symptoms of pre-eclampsia include high blood pressure, protein in the urine and fluid retention, which leads to swelling. The condition is generally discovered during routine prenatal visits. The problem has been diagnosing the condition before it becomes a medical emergency. There may be good news for earlier diagnosis. Canadian researchers at The University of Ontario and the … Continue reading →