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Preeclampsia Can Be Detected with a Urine Test

Preeclampsia is a condition that only appears during pregnancy and postpartum. It affects the mother and the baby and generally affects around 5-8%. When established in a woman, preeclampsia progresses rapidly and can be recognized by high blood pressure and protein in the urine. There are several symptoms linked to the disease, but if the disease progresses very fast, women sometimes report very few symptoms. Symptoms for preeclampsia include swelling, sudden weight gain, changes in vision and headaches.

Generally preeclampsia does not appear until the end of the second trimester around 20 weeks and later, but in some cases it has been seen before that. Preeclampsia can be detected via a urine test, but this possibility only is available if the pregnant women have proper prenatal care and regular visits to the gynecologist. Preeclampsia actually is responsible for death in pregnant women. It is also closely related to eclampsia, Pregnancy included Hypertension (HIP) and other pregnancy related diseases. Some reports say that 75,000 deaths a year are due to preeclampsia and related diseases.

One reason why preeclampsia can kill fast and silently is the related high blood pressure. Generally high blood pressure does not make you feel sick and the high blood pressure and other symptoms could just be related to pregnancy. Often time’s women get prescribed bed rest due to preeclampsia even though the person is essentially feeling fine. But preeclampsia should not be taken lightly; it is a serious health condition during pregnancy.

High blood pressure is defined as 140/90 and greater but some people can qualify for high blood pressure with a lower value if their baseline is also considered low. Another symptom of preeclampsia if several of the other symptoms are given is edema. Edema is swelling of the body, particularly swelling of the face and hands. In pregnancy a certain amount of swelling, especially in legs, ankles and wrists is normal. The swelling results from accumulation of excess fluids and is of great concern when the swelling appears in the face around the eyes and in the hands. This swelling in small amounts as normal due to pregnancy actually might cause you trouble with wearing rings.

Weight gain is also one of the symptoms included in preeclampsia. Weight gain during pregnancy is of course normal, but a sudden weight gain is more than 2-4 pounds a week and more than 6-8 pounds in one month. To prevent this kind of weight gain that could be concerning, have a normal well balanced diet and include lots of healthy filling foods to keep weight gain to a minimum. You will be thankful after pregnancy anyways if you did not gain as much weight and then have to loose it.

The way that preeclampsia can be detected is a urine tests. This is due to proteinuria, which is protein detected in the urine flow. Normally the proteins are contained in the blood and can spill over to the urine due to vessels in the kidneys that got damaged. Protein in the urine does not necessarily immediately mean that you have preeclampsia, but a few more tests can help determine whether or whether not you have the disease. This simple dipstick test that should be taken at you gynecologists office every time that you have a prenatal appointment can safe your and your babies life.

Should you experience any symptoms out of the ordinary or anything that you are concerned about during your pregnancy, whatever it might be, make sure you talk with your health care provider, gynecologist and maybe even some friends about it. It might be your savior or you might be able to hear other mom’s experiences and tips on how to feel better.