6 Things You Need to Know About Pre-eclampsia

You’re on your third trimester and your doctor asks you to make it a routine to pee in a cup, which starts to annoy you. But before you lose it, find out why.

I remember my weekly visits to the obstetrician’s office — bladder full of the orange and mango juice I skulled in the car ride over and arm ready to be squeezed purple with that pinching blood-pressure machine. Here, for yet another routine pregnancy check.

Every time I went to see my doctor, he made me pee in a cup, strangled my arm with his blood-pressure band and pressed on my bladder until I let out a little wee on the bed. I found this routine a little annoying, especially because he never mentioned to me why I had to continue to produce urine each week for tests. That was until I found out why.

In my 24^th week of pregnancy, I developed pre-eclampsia “” a leading cause of death in pregnant women and of premature birth. I was blissfully unaware of the war being waged in my body until the routine doctor’s visit and a blood pressure test turned into a sit down talk about the frightening risks of my condition.

I had relatively few symptoms, and those I did have seemed innocuous compared with my regular bout of nasty pregnancy side-effects. I’m the woman who vomited in a plastic bag on my way to work every day; feeling ill was par for my procreation course.

Luckily, my condition was only mild, although I did have to be monitored continuously throughout the rest of my pregnancy. I was grateful though, for some mothers, pre-eclampsia often means hospital, bed rest and a premature baby.

If you’re concerned about pre-eclampsia, here are some signs, symptoms and treatments to look out for.

Next Page: What is Pre-eclampsia?