pregnant woman
Improvements in Diagnosis of Preeclampsia in Pregnant Woman Could Save Lives
Preeclampsia is a type of health concern some women develop during pregnancy. It can be life threatening to the mother and to her baby due to the risk of a blood clot. In order to save lives, though, there needs to be improved methods of diagnosis in place. Pregnant women need to be aware of the risks as well as the symptoms to look for. Medical professionals also need to be closely monitoring at risk patients for such concerns.
There are studies to suggest that various forms of technology can be used to help predict very early in a pregnancy if a woman is at risk of developing preeclampsia or not. This would be a breakthrough type of technology as well because right now there isn’t anything that is able to provide medical professionals with this kind of information. The only really known symptoms are signs of swelling and the increase of proteins in the urine.
The goal of these studies is to create a type of blood test that can be done to detect preeclampsia risk. This would be a simple and cost effective process that would fit in with normal prenatal care. When you consider that 10% of pregnant women are diagnosed with preeclampsia annually, these are certainly measures worth taking. More than 200,000 women die annually from this health problem.
With proper treatment, though, it is possible for the woman and their infants to be able to survive without serious health problems. These new technologies would provide the means of ensuring that the risks of pregnancy are significantly reduced. The fact that women can also suffer from it later on after the delivery of the baby also needs to be taken into consideration.
Headaches, blurred vision, nausea and vomiting, or water retention are all serious symptoms that a pregnant woman or one who has just given birth need to report to their doctor. The most successful treatment for preeclampsia has many been on removing the baby as soon as possible. With early detection, though, other procedures can be implemented and the high risk pregnancy can be closely watched from the start.
Since preeclampsia is the leading cause of death relating to pregnancy, that means that we do need to explore the methods of diagnosing it early on in the pregnancy. It is suggested that even though the symptoms don’t develop until the last trimester, the problem is actually present in the early stages. Therefore all pregnant woman would benefit from being testing in the first trimester.
This would allow for actions to be taken for the duration of the pregnancy. Such intervention could be what it takes in order to reduce the risks for them by the time the last trimester of their pregnancy rolls around.
http://www.newsroom.heart.org/index.php?s=43&item=1111
http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/16/main.html
http://highbloodpressure.about.com/od/preeclampsia/f/preeclamp_trt.htm
How Should a Woman Change Her Vitamins During Pregnancy?
Having a baby is usually the happiest time of a couple’s life. They have been expecting and preparing for the child for nine months. A woman’s role in the proper development of her child during pregnancy is of the utmost importance. Depending on the habits of the future mother, her child can be born with birth defects or be born a healthy and happy baby.
There are several ways a pregnant woman can help her unborn child grow perfectly while in the womb. She can take vitamins to help prepare her body and her child. The kinds of vitamins that she will be instructed to take by her doctor are prenatal vitamins. These multivitamins are specially formulated to help correct any vitamin deficit in a pregnant woman. This will help with the nutritional vitamin deficiency a pregnant woman will naturally experience.
The prenatal vitamins will include a number of important minerals and vitamins. The most important vitamins that are needed to ensure a fetus’ development are iron, folic acid, and calcium. Babies and pregnant women are most at risk for iron deficiency because of the amount of growth they go through and require. Iron helps the blood take oxygen to the rest of the body.
Folic acid, a B vitamin the body uses to create cells, is significant in reducing your child’s risk in developing neural tube. Neural tube is a serious birth defect affecting the child’s spinal cord causing it not to close completely. The child displays paralysis, inconsistence, and mental retardation.
Doctors recommend 400 micrograms of folic acid but the amount can be as high as 4,000 micrograms depending on the woman and the risk the child may display. You don’t need to take a vitamin to get folic acid. By including green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, and citrus fruits in your diet, it can supply you the folic acid you need.
Calcium is also an important vitamin because it assists both the mother and the child. When the unborn baby grows, it puts pressure on the mother’s body. This causes the mother’s bone density to decrease. Calcium helps prevent the mother from losing the bone density.
A recent study from the researchers at Queen’s University Belfast found taking vitamin supplements would not reduce a pregnant woman’s blood pressure disorder or preeclampsia as previously thought. This study focused on pregnant women who have type 1 diabetes. Vitamin C and E were the supplements thought to help reduce preeclampsia.
Doctors may instruct you to change your diet to include foods at naturally contain iron, folic acid, and calcium. Remember to stay in contact with your doctor. Be honest if you haven’t been taking the vitamins or if you are having complications with the pregnancy. Your GP is there to assist you and your child. Take advantage of your doctor’s advice because anything you can do to help your baby develop properly and be born healthy is worth the effort.