What is pre-eclampsia?

Pre-eclampsia is an illness arising only in pregnancy which can affect the mother, her unborn child, or most commonly, both. It can occur at any time from around twenty weeks to as late as several days after delivery. In the mother, the condition causes a number of symptomless disturbances – including raised blood pressure (hypertension) and leakage of protein in the urine (proteinuria) – which can progress to serious illness if undetected.

 
 
 

  • "Mild pre-eclampsia affects up to 10% of first time pregnancies with severe pre-eclampsia affecting about 1 or 2 in a hundred pregnancies."

  • "Hypertension or high blood pressure is the most common medical problem that is encountered in pregnancy."

  • "Pre-eclampsia is the most common of the serious complications of pregnancy."

  • "In its early stages pre-eclampsia is symptom-less and is only detectable by regular antenatal checks on the mother's blood pressure and urine."

  • "Women with a body mass index over 35 may be of higher risk."