1. Check Your Pressure
Pregnancy brings with it the promise of a new life and the notion of eating what ever you want for the next nine months, but it can also cause toxemia. Toxemia is high blood pressure due to pregnancy. Preeclampsia and eclampsia are other names for this condition. It strikes without warning and there is no known cause. Some doctors speculate that it is a type of allergic reaction to the baby. Your body feels a need to protect you from the pregnancy. Toxemia can occur at any time during your pregnancy, but it progresses with the growth of the placenta.
2. Decrease Your Risk
Those at risk of developing toxemia are women who are pregnant for the first time. Subsequent pregnancies are less at risk unless the father is different. African-American women and the under privileged are others at risk. Family history, carrying twins or triplets and women under twenty and over thirty-five are included in this group as well.
3. Heed the Signs
Possible signs of toxemia include swollen hands, feet and face, an increase in blood pressure and in protein levels in your urine. Other symptoms are continuous heartburn, blurred vision, headaches and slow baby growth. Toxemia can cause seizures and fluid in the lungs. If you suffer a seizure, then it's called eclampsia. See your doctor immediately if this happens. Tiny clots may appear in the placenta's blood vessels and the vessels spasm cutting blood flow and oxygen to the baby. Another serious consequence is that the placenta could separate from the uterine wall. Toxemia can cause liver damage, renal failure, convulsions or strokes. Symptoms can be misleading, so share any concerns with your doctor.
4. Go to Bed
Listen to your doctor. Blood pressure medications and bedrest are the first treatments for toxemia. Your doctor delays delivering your baby as long as possible to avoid complications; however, if your due date is near, delivery is the solution. Depending on the severity, you may need to be hospitalized and prepared for early delivery. You are given certain medications to help facilitate delivery and prepare your baby for arrival. If complications arise, your doctor can order a blood transfusion, an ultrasound, x-rays and/or CAT scans. Dialysis can also be used to rid the body of toxins.
5. Delivering the Cure
After delivery, keep follow up appointments with your doctor to verify that your blood pressure is returning to normal. Toxemia should clear without any adverse affects, but talk to your doctor if you have concerns.
