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Eclampsia is a condition that almost all pregnant women fear. Few of them know exactly what it entails, but they instinctively feel anxious. It is therefore worth knowing that in fact eclampsia in pregnancy is a state of the body that directly threatens the life of both the mother and the child. In short, it is the most severe form of pregnancy poisoning. Find out what the causes of eclampsia are and what consequences to expect in this situation.
Eclampsia appears as seizures or coma in previously diagnosed pregnant women preeclampsia or hypertension. Alone is a major threat to mother and child preeclampsia. The reasons for this situation can be seen in the improper functioning of the placenta or the improper placement of the placenta in the walls of the uterus. All of this goes away immediately after giving birth. Alone pregnancy eclampsia is the result of a lack of or improper treatment, and it happens as the seizures overlap with preeclampsia. After delivery, if the blood pressure is still too high, you should look for other diseases, because this abnormality was certainly not caused by preeclampsia.
Eclampsia in pregnancy it is also called eclampsia and statistically occurs in one case out of 1600 pregnancies. Appears no earlier than the twentieth week of pregnancy. It is most often caused by such factors as: vasospasm, hypoxia or swelling of the brain, infarcts or strokes, as well as hypertensive and metabolic encephalopathy.
Preeclampsia and eclampsia – symptoms
You have to be clear about that eclampsia always precedes preeclampsiahigh blood pressure is the first alarming symptom in pregnancy. The doctor takes two independent measurements. If the systolic blood pressure is greater than or equal to 140 mm HG and the diastolic blood pressure is 90 mm and the result is repeated within a week, a diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. When a woman previously suffered from hypertension, the diagnosis is not clear anymore and further tests are performed.
Factors that can confirm preeclampsia, there is protein in the urine, a decrease in blood platelets, an increase in creatinine, visual disturbances, sometimes pulmonary edema, but it must be remembered that edema in pregnancy is not unusual. So in order to make a diagnosis in this case, several symptoms must be present at once.
Eclampsia in pregnancy – phases of the disease
The development of the disease can be divided into four phases. First, she feels terrible and the woman loses consciousness. Then you can also observe the vibrations of the facial muscles and nystagmus. The next phase there is a tonic contraction that lasts no more than a minute and respiratory arrest occurs, so there is severe hypoxia at the same time.
Third phase these are clonic contractions that last no more than two minutes, but involve the muscles of the trunk, face and limbs. Sometimes there is even foam on the lips. The final phase it’s already a coma, which can last a few seconds, but can also turn into a permanent coma.
During all these stages, headaches and disturbed consciousness occur. Often the patient has trouble seeing. There are also epigastric pains, sometimes nausea. If, on the other hand, there is a coma lasting more than six hours, a very high temperature, oliguria, or the doctor discovers symptoms of detachment of the placenta, it is a sign that the situation is very serious, or even poor prognosis.
Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia – treatment
How the doctor will proceed depends on the current condition of the woman and her unborn child, as well as the degree of threat to their life and health. The first factor influencing the management is the age of pregnancy and the degree of development of the fetus. The only effective method of elimination the threat is termination of pregnancy. Even if the diagnosed disease is mild and the pregnancy has reached 37 weeks, the doctor decides whether to induce labor or perform a caesarean section. If the disease is severe, pregnancy is terminated even around 34 weeks. Most often, antihypertensive therapy, glucocorticosteroids and magnesium sulphate are also included.
The good news is that you give birth immediately after both preeclampsiaAnd eclampsia they go away on their own.
Can pre-eclampsia be prevented?
If a woman had passed through in a previous pregnancy preeclampsia, it must undergo prophylaxis from the moment of diagnosis of the next pregnancy. If, in addition, there was a preterm labor previously that followed pre-eclampsiait is certainly a high-risk pregnancy and prophylactic therapy is introduced immediately. It consists in taking acetylsalicylic acid throughout the first trimester of pregnancy. However, all women should be cautioned against taking acetylsalicylic acid on their own. Only a doctor can recommend such therapy.