By Reginia Dodson | UAB Community Health and Human Services Intern
Pregnancy alone is a lot to deal with for women, but during pregnancy, a lot of health issues can develop, including high blood pressure. There are different forms of high blood pressure for pregnant women, depending on when the disease develops. Chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension, and preeclampsia/ eclampsia are the three different forms. “Chronic hypertension means having high blood pressure before you get pregnant or before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Women with chronic hypertension can also get preeclampsia in the second or third trimester of pregnancy” (CDC). Chronic hypertension usually indicates that the mom had high blood pressure before or early in the pregnancy. For gestational hypertension, “This condition happens when you only have high blood pressure during pregnancy and do not have protein in your urine or other heart or kidney problems. It is typically diagnosed after 20 weeks of pregnancy or close to delivery. Gestational hypertension usually goes away after you give birth. However, some women with gestational hypertension have a higher risk of developing chronic hypertension in the future” (CDC). “Preeclampsia happens when a woman who previously had normal blood pressure suddenly develops high blood pressure and protein in her urine or other problems after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Women who have chronic hypertension can also get preeclampsia. Preeclampsia happens in about 1 in 25 pregnancies in the United States. Some women with preeclampsia can develop seizures, called eclampsia, which is a medical emergency” (CDC). I cannot pinpoint which sounds the most frightening—maybe pre-eclampsia since it can cause seizures, opening up many problems. Regardless, bringing a life into the world is risky, but knowing that health issues can arise because you share your body to birth a baby, can make a person pretty cautious.
References
Wilkinson Wellness Laboratory 