Pre-eclampsia

Pre-eclampsia INTRODUCTION Pre-eclampsia is a disorder peculiar to pregnant women. It may be defined as the development of hypertension (blood pressure >140/90 mm Hg) together with abnormal oedema or proteinuria or both, after the twentieth week of gestation. Pre-eclampsia is the precursor of eclampsia. Eclampsia is characterised by epileptiform convulsions and coma supervening upon hypertensive disease in pregnancy. This greatly increases the maternal and foetal morbidity and morality. In the past, eclampsia was a frequent cause …

…hypertension. Therefore, to reduce the number of cases of pre-eclampsia, certain preventative measures must be implemented in all antenatal care institutions. These are: i) Education of all health care personnel ii) Early detection of the signs of pre-eclampsia in a conscientious antenatal care setting, and iii) Implication of early preventative treatment. In all cases whether mild, moderate, or severe, once the diagnosis has been established, all patients should be admitted to hospital for further management.