October 3, 2025 • 20 mins
Preeclampsia can appear without warning and reshape a birth plan overnight. We explain the signs, risks, and care decisions with real stories from the hospital and straightforward steps to lower risk and catch problems early.
• what preeclampsia is and why it matters
• common and less obvious warning signs
• who is at higher risk and why risk shifts
• how diagnosis works in real prenatal care
• dangers for mother and baby if untreated
• treatment options, induction and cesarean decisions
• postpartum risks and long-term health impacts
• prevention basics: aspirin, calcium, nutrition, exercise
• real cases: risking out of home birth, NICU realities
• self-advocacy, listening to your body, asking for help
Your listens mean so much to us. I want you to try and make a human connection today. If you can reach out, touch someone, whether that's virtually eye contact, really grab hold of someone with your own hands, give them a hug.
Visit our website, here: https://birthlearning.com/
Follow us on Facebook at Birth Learning
Follow us on Instagram at @birthlearning
Show Credits
Host: Angie Rosier
Music: Michael Hicks
Photographer: Toni Walker
Episode Artwork: Nick Greenwood
Producer: Gillian Rosier Frampton
Voiceover: Ryan Parker
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:10):
Welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast with
Angie Roger, hosted by BirthLearning, where we help prepare
folks for labor and birth withexpertise coming from 20 years
of experience in a busy doulapractice, helping thousands of
people prepare for labor,providing essential knowledge
and tools for positive andempowering birth experiences.
SPEAKER_01 (00:55):
So this is an episode I have pondered on and
thought about for a long time.
Something I've wanted to addressbecause I see it a lot.
I see it as I work in hospitals,I see it as a doula, see it as a
lactation consultant, seen itfor years.
Um it's a serious topic, it's uma little bit of a mysterious
(01:16):
topic, and that is preclampsia.
So you may have heard ofpreclampsia.
That is simply a pregnancycomplication that is involving
high blood pressure and stresson the mom's organs, usually
happens after about 20 weeks.
So um I want you to kind ofthink of pregnancy kind of like
(01:39):
a journey, right?
Like a you're going on a roadtrip.
I don't know if you guys likeroad trips.
I love road trips.
I just got back a couple weeksago from a 6,800-mile awesome
road trip and had a great time.
So when I'm going on a road tripthat long, um, I prepare for and
I hope everything will be well.
Uh that's not always gonna bethe case, obviously, but I get
(01:59):
the car ready, I think ahead,what are our stops?
Um, we're obviously gonna needto refuel, we're gonna need some
brakes.
Um, you know, that's just thetraveling part of it.
Then there's the fun part to allthe activities we're gonna do
along the way, what ourdifferent destinations will be.
And every time I do a long roadtrip, and I've done several
across the whole United States,um, like it's a miracle if it
(02:22):
goes well.
It seems like.
So this last road trip was 6,800miles, and I was about 2,000
miles in um when the airpressure on one of my cars was
like totally going down.
Or sorry, one of the tires, theair pressure was going down.
I'm like, oh dang it, I've gotso much longer to go.
Went in, got it checked out,sure enough, and we went to a
wouldn't you know it, in um,where somewhere in the middle of
(02:43):
Ohio.
There was a 24-hour car place,this little hole in the wall
shop in the back of nowhere,which is awesome.
I was so glad they were open at10:30 at night.
Sure enough, there's a hole inmy tire.
I bought a new tire and got onthe road again.
So pregnancy is kind of like aroad trip.
Most of the time, things aregonna be smooth, there's gonna
be bumps, but you can keepmoving forward.
(03:04):
So proclampsia is a little bitlike a little hiccup in a road
trip, right?
Maybe it's the engineoverheating.
That's actually a great umthing.
Like the engine has just beenworking hard, and with the
engine overheating, the car justcan't go on very well, right?
Pressure builds up, thetemperature gauges are going up.
Um, if you catch it and workwith it, you know, we we can
(03:25):
kind of cool the car down andand take good care of it, change
what needs to be changed.
But that if we don't do anythingabout it, that pressure is going
to kind of build, could damagethe engine, so you're not able
to go on further in the journey,in your your quote unquote
journey or your road trip.
So preclampsia is a lot likethat.
A lot of times you're justcruising along through
pregnancy, feeling fine, andthen one week, it's quite sudden
(03:47):
sometimes, um, you're facingdangerous blood pressure issues.
Okay, so this affects about fiveto eight percent of pregnancies
worldwide.
I have seen, I haven't pulleddata on this, but anecdotally, I
have seen this, and I have I'veI know I've talked to other
providers in many hospitals,they're seeing, feeling, having
the effects of this kind ofcreeping up.
(04:08):
Um, so it's one of the leadingcauses globally of maternal and
neonatal illness or death.
Um, and we'll talk about alittle bit about why.
So increased risk factors, itincreases the risk factors per
premature birth, which increasesNICU stays.
Um so babies struggle.
If they have to be born early,they struggle, right?
(04:30):
It increases complicationswithin the organ systems of the
mom's body, can lead to strokes,seizures, and organ damage.
It could be permanent.
So talking about who's at risk,like basically everyone could be
at risk, which is sointeresting.
Um, and we'll talk a little bitmore about that in a minute.
But first pregnancy is actuallykind of um more at risk.
A history of preclampsia, um,carrying multiples, chronic
(04:54):
hypertension, diabetes, havingkidney disease or autoimmune
disorders, or if a history, ifyou have a history of
pre-clampsia with moms, sisters,or anything that can contribute
to risk factors, it could happenin people over age 35 a little
more frequently, people who areum have a higher BMI.
So everyone is at risk, butthere are certain factors that
(05:16):
can make it a little more commonfor sure.
So some signs and symptoms towatch for.
And um, you get asked thesequestions quite a lot in
pregnancy at your visits.
You might not know exactly whythey're asking and what they're
looking for, but um high bloodpressure.
So when you go in for regularprenatal check, it's kind of
boring, right?
You pee in a cup, they take yourblood pressure, um, they're
(05:37):
measuring fundal height, there'snot a whole lot to do, but
that's actually very importantbits of care because one of the
indicators of preclampsia ishigh blood pressure, often
picked up at prenatal visits.
Um peeing on the stick, right?
You put a little stick therelooking for protein in the
urine.
That's another sign of stress onthe kidneys, could be a sign of
(05:58):
preclampsia, swelling.
Have they asked about yourswelling?
If it gets um really quickly, ifit goes up, if um, you know,
sometimes you're dehydrated,you're hot.
It's summertime.
People swell, but um, it's onethat doesn't go away, especially
in the face or hands.
It can be a sign of preclampsy,an early sign, sudden weight
gain from fluid or tension,headaches.
Here it asked about like are youseeing spots or any blurriness?
(06:20):
How's your vision doing?
Are you getting headaches?
It could be pain, like upperbelly pain, which is near the
liver.
That's what we're looking at isliver dysfunction.
And sometimes there's absolutelyno symptoms, which is
interesting.
There's no, not even the bloodpressure is reading high, but
there's absolutely no symptomswhen all of a sudden this is
occurring.
So it's diagnosed with bloodpressure checks, urine uh tests
(06:42):
for protein, which are prettystandard and regular, um, and
then blood tests if needed.
This isn't a super regular testat prenatal visits, but if
needed, they will um do a bloodtest for liver, kidney function,
platelet counts, um, maybeultrasounds to moder baby's
growth.
If there's sometimespreclampsia, then the baby's not
growing as well.
So some dangers, a lot of thedangers here lie in the health
(07:05):
of the body of the mom.
So her organs can be in danger.
This would be um her kidneys,her liver, and the function of
those.
She's at risk for developinge-clampsia.
So there's pre-clampsia,pre-eclampsia, and then
eclampsia.
We'll talk about the differencein a minute, which can lead to
stroke, help syndrome, and organfailure.
(07:26):
Big stuff, like big scary stuff.
The risks for the baby aregrowth restriction, like if the
mom's body is just, you know, ifthat engine is overheating or
your tire is deflating all thetime, it's going to be hard to
continue on with this pregnancyin a very effective way.
Um, preterm birth, so that leadsto NICU stays, babies who have
challenges with that.
(07:46):
Um, and in severe cases, veryuncommon, but could lead to
stillbirth.
Most of the risks lie with themom.
Um, and while serious, it'streatable with early care, early
detection in care.
Um, so the first things if ifwe're suspecting that is just
closer monitoring.
It may we may use blood pressuremedications.
Um, bed rest is no longerrecommended.
(08:08):
It used to be, but turns outthat's not the best thing for us
is to hold still all the time.
Um, in severe cases,hospitalization, I've seen
people hospitalized for weeks,weeks, weeks at a time to manage
their preclampsia, waiting forthat baby to get big enough so
that it'll be a little biteasier for the baby and taking
very good care and taking aclose keeping a close eye on the
(08:29):
mom.
Magnesium sulfate.
So if you heard the mom that'son mag, um, she's getting
magnesium sulfate to preventseizures.
Um, and that is not a funfeeling.
Um, mag kind of makes you feelpretty yucky.
Um the best cure is delivery ofbaby and placenta.
That's like when we're like, allright, things are at a tipping
point, we need to get this babyout.
(08:50):
Um, sometimes it's done bycesarean, sometimes induction.
It kind of depends on theseverity of things and the
designational age of the babies.
Um, and still, even afterdelivery, moms are still at risk
for preclamtic symptoms andproblems.
So the blood pressure may takedays or weeks to kind of
normalize and will still bewatched pretty closely by a
(09:10):
provider.
So it's important to let peopleknow, right?
Talk about it, say let peopleknow how you're feeling um
before, during, and after.
And they're going to be keepingpretty close tabs on people who
are um experiencing these.
So prevention is um in thesecond trimester, and this is
something you would work on witha provider.
It's not something you reallychoose to do yourself, but work
(09:30):
closely with a provider.
Low dose aspirin for at-riskpregnancies, regular prenatal
care, obviously, to check theearly signs.
Um, and then one thing you cando prior to even becoming
pregnant, um, have balancednutrition and good physical
activity and healthy weightmanagement.
Those are going to be someefforts that you can make
(09:51):
previous to um even gettingpregnant that can help with
that.
And I have honestly seen, um,because this can come up so
quickly, I have seen this happenin professional athletes.
I've had clients who areOlympians and they have
experienced preclampsia.
And so these are individuals whoare incredibly fit and
incredibly healthy.
So it's not all, like I said,everyone's at risk for
(10:13):
preclampsia, everyone andanyone.
And the mystery to me now is whydo the rates seem to be going
up?
And I know in within ourindustry, they're kind of taking
a look at that, seeing what wecan do because it's pretty um,
pretty dangerous and prettycostly to the systems and
obviously to people's lives,incredibly disruptive and makes
and it's and scary, right?
It's pretty scary.
(10:33):
So after someone haspreclampsia, they do have a
higher risk of heart disease,stroke, and blood pressure, high
blood pressure later on in life,and it may um include be their
risk of getting it in a futurepregnancy goes up by about 20%.
Um, so kind of the the take-homemessage here is it's common and
(10:54):
it's serious, but with watchfulcare, lives can be saved.
I've had a couple of clientsthis year who are planning um
home births, like they'replanning a home birth, they were
low risk, they low riskcategories in every way, and
which you have to be for homebirth, and they risked out of
home birth like in like week 20um to 27 because they're they
(11:17):
were starting to detect somecreeping up blood pressures.
Um, and one mom had to be had tohave a very fast section upon
arrival when she wasexperiencing a lot of symptoms
at um the hospital.
Another one had to be admittedto the hospital, transfer out of
home birth care, and she was inthe hospital about a week before
she she delivered vaginally, butthey kind of watched to see a
(11:41):
safe time.
We've got that baby as old as wecould and as big as we could
before um choosing to inducelabor.
And that baby was in the NICUfor a while.
He came home not too long ago,and um, so that was a different
journey, obviously, than thatthat family was planning on
taking.
So this, you know, is somethingto be aware of.
And I want to talk a little bitabout um some preventative
(12:04):
things.
It cannot always be prevented,and sometimes it just pops up
without any clear warning signsat all.
But there are things that anyonecan do to lower the risk and or
to catch it early.
One of them is prenatal care,just get real good prenatal
care.
Some people like, ah, I'mfeeling great, I'm healthy, I'm
young, I've done this before,whatever the case may be.
(12:24):
But prenatal care um is uh likeregular prenatal care is going
to be helpful to um detect anyearly signs.
Work with your provider to seeif you have certain risk
factors, if low-dose aspirin,that's an easy little easy fix.
And it's not a fix, it's an easyhelp, right?
Um, that lowers the risk ofdeveloping pre-clampsia.
(12:47):
Um, entering pregnancy at ahealthy weight and gaining an
appropriate amount of weightduring pregnancy, right?
So that comes with um, and thenyou know, we all start pregnancy
in different places for sure,but going into a healthy can
impact um healthy outcomes orunhealthy outcomes.
So having a diet balanced andrich fruit, you know, fruits,
(13:09):
vegetables, proteins, wholegrains, all of our whole foods
are going to be helpful,limiting processed foods,
limiting excess salt, limitingsugar, um, kind of like anyone
would do to eat for healthyblood pressure.
And then managing chronicconditions.
If you have any chronicconditions, hypertension,
diabetes, autoimmune disorders,right?
(13:31):
That if you're going intopregnancy, um, make sure those
are pretty well under control.
There was one client I had uh afew years ago, and she probably
the earliest and one of the mostinteresting and perhaps severe
cases, she got preclamticsymptoms at week 17.
So kind of early as they said wecan't even diagnose you with
(13:52):
this, although she had crazyhigh blood pressures at week 17.
Um, we can't diagnose you withthis until after week 20.
Sure enough, after week 20, shehad these high blood pressures.
They monitored her very closelythroughout her entire pregnancy
and watched carefully to seewhen would be the best time to
deliver her baby.
So her baby was delivered alittle bit early, but not too
much.
(14:12):
Um, so that was her secondpregnancy.
And then a couple years later,um, well, she actually uh, you
know, as she knew the risksthroughout her life, um, she
contemplated whether she shouldhave another pregnancy, first of
all.
Um, but what she did was changesome lifestyle things and got
into really good shape.
Um, she did a lot of dietchanges and exercising.
(14:34):
She and her partner ran like ahalf marathon together.
She trained for some triathlonsbetween.
I'm not saying you need to dothat, but she made some pretty
good changes in her life and shewas in really, really good shape
when a couple years later shedid indeed decide to have
another pregnancy.
And as luck would have it, shebecame pregnant with twins.
Total surprise.
(14:55):
I remember they called me um theday, well, the day after the day
that they found out they calledme after their doctor's
appointment.
And they're like, guess what?
You were never gonna guess.
Um, but they had twins, theywere having twins, they were in
shock for a while, as you canimagine, and the risk for
clampsia goes up with multiples.
She was working with a fabulousMFM, an amazing doctor, who
(15:15):
helped her throughout this nextpregnancy.
And you know what?
Twins.
Um, she was obviously a littlebit older, she wasn't in an old
category by any means.
I think she was in her early 30sby this point.
Um, that was the healthiestpregnancy of her three
pregnancies, and she deliveredhealthy baby girl twins, um,
much closer to their due datethan um we had first
(15:36):
anticipated.
So pretty exciting, like successstory there, which is awesome.
So manage those conditions.
Regular, moderate physicalexercise, like walking,
swimming, prenatal yoga can justhelp keep blood pressure steady.
Um, so go into pregnancy if youare able to and in a good
healthy state, healthy for you.
Um, and obviously work with theprovider to know if it's safe to
(15:58):
do these things if you'repregnant or have other
conditions.
Know your family history.
Know that like ask questions ofyour sisters, moms, um, any
close relatives who have bloodrelatives who have had babies
and see what their um experiencewas like.
And then in some parts of theworld, calcium intake is low.
So supplements have been shown.
Um, calcium supplements havebeen shown to reduce the risk of
(16:22):
preclampsia.
So definitely do that with adoctor as well.
So while we can't completelyprevent it, we can reduce risk
and catch this early.
Um, so work very carefully withyour healthcare team.
That's going to be one of thebest protections that you can.
So there is some power.
There's some powerful ways toreduce the risk of things that
(16:42):
are in your control.
Um, catching it early is one,but doing best you can to avoid
it is important.
Um so those with multiples,diabetes, high blood pressure,
um, work closely again with yourprovider.
Maybe you use aspirin or calciumsupplement that can re reduce
risk by up to 20%.
(17:03):
Um Wow, pre-clampsia, that's alot.
It's still um a mystery to me,and I think to a lot of people
right here right here in ourright here, right now, um why
this is happening so much.
I was at uh birth not too longago.
Um, and we're I was talking tothe charge nurse out in the
hall.
She's like, man, I got so manymedicals going on, and all these
(17:26):
people with preclampsia.
And so that causes inductions,that can be a little bit longer,
it can cause littlecomplications at birth with
baby.
Um, and she's like, honestly, mywhole nursing staff is not, um,
that's kind of a young staffthat's on tonight, and they
don't have all um of the deepexperience and skills that I
wish we had tonight because ofwhat we've got going on.
(17:46):
So please do your best to takecare of yourself.
Um, just as a quick littlewrap-up and checklist.
Remember, we can't alwaysprevent it, but we can reduce
risks.
Prenatal visits help us catch itearly and then be able to manage
it.
Know your risk factors, do thebest you can to control them um
with lowering, lowering thoserisk factors.
(18:08):
Well, try not to have twins.
Just kidding, you can have twinsif you want to, but and we know
that going into having diabetes,type one or type two, um, having
high blood pressure, chronichypertension, carrying
multiples, sometimes being over35, all those can be risk
factors.
Um, so watch extra careful.
Uh, know the warning signs.
That's why they ask aboutheadaches, vision changes,
(18:30):
sudden swelling or pain.
Um, if something feels off, liketrust it, trust your gut and and
talk to your proprietor aboutthat.
Um, know that you can work onthis.
Um, and your own, you have thepower to work on this for
yourself and for your health,for your baby's health as well.
Um, I mean this is something I'mgonna continue to watch.
(18:51):
It's piqued my interest forseveral years in my career,
something I will continue towatch and look at studies and um
see what comes out and how uhlike it's a little bit of a
mystery for us to solve, um, howwe can continue to reduce risks
because sometimes this onesurprises us.
It really does, and it has somepretty big effects.
Hopefully, this has been helpfulto you.
Um, if you're in pregnancy orknow somebody who is or
(19:12):
supporting someone who is, um,help them to manage those risk
factors and or support themthrough the hard times, right?
Sometimes when this crops up, umpeople are surprised.
Obviously, they're they're quitequite surprised, and it can be a
challenge.
So give appropriate support,compassionate support um around
the situations that arechallenging.
(19:33):
Um thank you so much.
I want to thank you for beinghere today with the Ordinary
Deal Podcast.
Your listens mean so much to us.
Um, I want you to try and make ahuman connection today.
If you can reach out, touchsomeone, whether that's
virtually eye contact, reallygrab hold of someone with your
own hands, give them a hug.
Um, that it will be important tomake that human connection.
(19:53):
Uh people need that.
We all we all need each other.
Hope you have a great day, andwe will see you next time on the
Ordinary Doula Podcast.
SPEAKER_00 (20:21):
Episode credits will be in the show notes.
Next time, as we continue toexplore the many aspects of
giving birth.
Welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast with
Angie Roger, hosted by BirthLearning, where we help prepare
folks for labor and birth withexpertise coming from 20 years
of experience in a busy doulapractice, helping thousands of
people prepare for labor,providing essential knowledge
and tools for positive andempowering birth experiences.
SPEAKER_01 (00:55):
So this is an episode I have pondered on and
thought about for a long time.
Something I've wanted to addressbecause I see it a lot.
I see it as I work in hospitals,I see it as a doula, see it as a
lactation consultant, seen itfor years.
Um it's a serious topic, it's uma little bit of a mysterious
(01:16):
topic, and that is preclampsia.
So you may have heard ofpreclampsia.
That is simply a pregnancycomplication that is involving
high blood pressure and stresson the mom's organs, usually
happens after about 20 weeks.
So um I want you to kind ofthink of pregnancy kind of like
(01:39):
a journey, right?
Like a you're going on a roadtrip.
I don't know if you guys likeroad trips.
I love road trips.
I just got back a couple weeksago from a 6,800-mile awesome
road trip and had a great time.
So when I'm going on a road tripthat long, um, I prepare for and
I hope everything will be well.
Uh that's not always gonna bethe case, obviously, but I get
(01:59):
the car ready, I think ahead,what are our stops?
Um, we're obviously gonna needto refuel, we're gonna need some
brakes.
Um, you know, that's just thetraveling part of it.
Then there's the fun part to allthe activities we're gonna do
along the way, what ourdifferent destinations will be.
And every time I do a long roadtrip, and I've done several
across the whole United States,um, like it's a miracle if it
(02:22):
goes well.
It seems like.
So this last road trip was 6,800miles, and I was about 2,000
miles in um when the airpressure on one of my cars was
like totally going down.
Or sorry, one of the tires, theair pressure was going down.
I'm like, oh dang it, I've gotso much longer to go.
Went in, got it checked out,sure enough, and we went to a
wouldn't you know it, in um,where somewhere in the middle of
(02:43):
Ohio.
There was a 24-hour car place,this little hole in the wall
shop in the back of nowhere,which is awesome.
I was so glad they were open at10:30 at night.
Sure enough, there's a hole inmy tire.
I bought a new tire and got onthe road again.
So pregnancy is kind of like aroad trip.
Most of the time, things aregonna be smooth, there's gonna
be bumps, but you can keepmoving forward.
(03:04):
So proclampsia is a little bitlike a little hiccup in a road
trip, right?
Maybe it's the engineoverheating.
That's actually a great umthing.
Like the engine has just beenworking hard, and with the
engine overheating, the car justcan't go on very well, right?
Pressure builds up, thetemperature gauges are going up.
Um, if you catch it and workwith it, you know, we we can
(03:25):
kind of cool the car down andand take good care of it, change
what needs to be changed.
But that if we don't do anythingabout it, that pressure is going
to kind of build, could damagethe engine, so you're not able
to go on further in the journey,in your your quote unquote
journey or your road trip.
So preclampsia is a lot likethat.
A lot of times you're justcruising along through
pregnancy, feeling fine, andthen one week, it's quite sudden
(03:47):
sometimes, um, you're facingdangerous blood pressure issues.
Okay, so this affects about fiveto eight percent of pregnancies
worldwide.
I have seen, I haven't pulleddata on this, but anecdotally, I
have seen this, and I have I'veI know I've talked to other
providers in many hospitals,they're seeing, feeling, having
the effects of this kind ofcreeping up.
(04:08):
Um, so it's one of the leadingcauses globally of maternal and
neonatal illness or death.
Um, and we'll talk about alittle bit about why.
So increased risk factors, itincreases the risk factors per
premature birth, which increasesNICU stays.
Um so babies struggle.
If they have to be born early,they struggle, right?
(04:30):
It increases complicationswithin the organ systems of the
mom's body, can lead to strokes,seizures, and organ damage.
It could be permanent.
So talking about who's at risk,like basically everyone could be
at risk, which is sointeresting.
Um, and we'll talk a little bitmore about that in a minute.
But first pregnancy is actuallykind of um more at risk.
A history of preclampsia, um,carrying multiples, chronic
(04:54):
hypertension, diabetes, havingkidney disease or autoimmune
disorders, or if a history, ifyou have a history of
pre-clampsia with moms, sisters,or anything that can contribute
to risk factors, it could happenin people over age 35 a little
more frequently, people who areum have a higher BMI.
So everyone is at risk, butthere are certain factors that
(05:16):
can make it a little more commonfor sure.
So some signs and symptoms towatch for.
And um, you get asked thesequestions quite a lot in
pregnancy at your visits.
You might not know exactly whythey're asking and what they're
looking for, but um high bloodpressure.
So when you go in for regularprenatal check, it's kind of
boring, right?
You pee in a cup, they take yourblood pressure, um, they're
(05:37):
measuring fundal height, there'snot a whole lot to do, but
that's actually very importantbits of care because one of the
indicators of preclampsia ishigh blood pressure, often
picked up at prenatal visits.
Um peeing on the stick, right?
You put a little stick therelooking for protein in the
urine.
That's another sign of stress onthe kidneys, could be a sign of
(05:58):
preclampsia, swelling.
Have they asked about yourswelling?
If it gets um really quickly, ifit goes up, if um, you know,
sometimes you're dehydrated,you're hot.
It's summertime.
People swell, but um, it's onethat doesn't go away, especially
in the face or hands.
It can be a sign of preclampsy,an early sign, sudden weight
gain from fluid or tension,headaches.
Here it asked about like are youseeing spots or any blurriness?
(06:20):
How's your vision doing?
Are you getting headaches?
It could be pain, like upperbelly pain, which is near the
liver.
That's what we're looking at isliver dysfunction.
And sometimes there's absolutelyno symptoms, which is
interesting.
There's no, not even the bloodpressure is reading high, but
there's absolutely no symptomswhen all of a sudden this is
occurring.
So it's diagnosed with bloodpressure checks, urine uh tests
(06:42):
for protein, which are prettystandard and regular, um, and
then blood tests if needed.
This isn't a super regular testat prenatal visits, but if
needed, they will um do a bloodtest for liver, kidney function,
platelet counts, um, maybeultrasounds to moder baby's
growth.
If there's sometimespreclampsia, then the baby's not
growing as well.
So some dangers, a lot of thedangers here lie in the health
(07:05):
of the body of the mom.
So her organs can be in danger.
This would be um her kidneys,her liver, and the function of
those.
She's at risk for developinge-clampsia.
So there's pre-clampsia,pre-eclampsia, and then
eclampsia.
We'll talk about the differencein a minute, which can lead to
stroke, help syndrome, and organfailure.
(07:26):
Big stuff, like big scary stuff.
The risks for the baby aregrowth restriction, like if the
mom's body is just, you know, ifthat engine is overheating or
your tire is deflating all thetime, it's going to be hard to
continue on with this pregnancyin a very effective way.
Um, preterm birth, so that leadsto NICU stays, babies who have
challenges with that.
(07:46):
Um, and in severe cases, veryuncommon, but could lead to
stillbirth.
Most of the risks lie with themom.
Um, and while serious, it'streatable with early care, early
detection in care.
Um, so the first things if ifwe're suspecting that is just
closer monitoring.
It may we may use blood pressuremedications.
Um, bed rest is no longerrecommended.
(08:08):
It used to be, but turns outthat's not the best thing for us
is to hold still all the time.
Um, in severe cases,hospitalization, I've seen
people hospitalized for weeks,weeks, weeks at a time to manage
their preclampsia, waiting forthat baby to get big enough so
that it'll be a little biteasier for the baby and taking
very good care and taking aclose keeping a close eye on the
(08:29):
mom.
Magnesium sulfate.
So if you heard the mom that'son mag, um, she's getting
magnesium sulfate to preventseizures.
Um, and that is not a funfeeling.
Um, mag kind of makes you feelpretty yucky.
Um the best cure is delivery ofbaby and placenta.
That's like when we're like, allright, things are at a tipping
point, we need to get this babyout.
(08:50):
Um, sometimes it's done bycesarean, sometimes induction.
It kind of depends on theseverity of things and the
designational age of the babies.
Um, and still, even afterdelivery, moms are still at risk
for preclamtic symptoms andproblems.
So the blood pressure may takedays or weeks to kind of
normalize and will still bewatched pretty closely by a
(09:10):
provider.
So it's important to let peopleknow, right?
Talk about it, say let peopleknow how you're feeling um
before, during, and after.
And they're going to be keepingpretty close tabs on people who
are um experiencing these.
So prevention is um in thesecond trimester, and this is
something you would work on witha provider.
It's not something you reallychoose to do yourself, but work
(09:30):
closely with a provider.
Low dose aspirin for at-riskpregnancies, regular prenatal
care, obviously, to check theearly signs.
Um, and then one thing you cando prior to even becoming
pregnant, um, have balancednutrition and good physical
activity and healthy weightmanagement.
Those are going to be someefforts that you can make
(09:51):
previous to um even gettingpregnant that can help with
that.
And I have honestly seen, um,because this can come up so
quickly, I have seen this happenin professional athletes.
I've had clients who areOlympians and they have
experienced preclampsia.
And so these are individuals whoare incredibly fit and
incredibly healthy.
So it's not all, like I said,everyone's at risk for
(10:13):
preclampsia, everyone andanyone.
And the mystery to me now is whydo the rates seem to be going
up?
And I know in within ourindustry, they're kind of taking
a look at that, seeing what wecan do because it's pretty um,
pretty dangerous and prettycostly to the systems and
obviously to people's lives,incredibly disruptive and makes
and it's and scary, right?
It's pretty scary.
(10:33):
So after someone haspreclampsia, they do have a
higher risk of heart disease,stroke, and blood pressure, high
blood pressure later on in life,and it may um include be their
risk of getting it in a futurepregnancy goes up by about 20%.
Um, so kind of the the take-homemessage here is it's common and
(10:54):
it's serious, but with watchfulcare, lives can be saved.
I've had a couple of clientsthis year who are planning um
home births, like they'replanning a home birth, they were
low risk, they low riskcategories in every way, and
which you have to be for homebirth, and they risked out of
home birth like in like week 20um to 27 because they're they
(11:17):
were starting to detect somecreeping up blood pressures.
Um, and one mom had to be had tohave a very fast section upon
arrival when she wasexperiencing a lot of symptoms
at um the hospital.
Another one had to be admittedto the hospital, transfer out of
home birth care, and she was inthe hospital about a week before
she she delivered vaginally, butthey kind of watched to see a
(11:41):
safe time.
We've got that baby as old as wecould and as big as we could
before um choosing to inducelabor.
And that baby was in the NICUfor a while.
He came home not too long ago,and um, so that was a different
journey, obviously, than thatthat family was planning on
taking.
So this, you know, is somethingto be aware of.
And I want to talk a little bitabout um some preventative
(12:04):
things.
It cannot always be prevented,and sometimes it just pops up
without any clear warning signsat all.
But there are things that anyonecan do to lower the risk and or
to catch it early.
One of them is prenatal care,just get real good prenatal
care.
Some people like, ah, I'mfeeling great, I'm healthy, I'm
young, I've done this before,whatever the case may be.
(12:24):
But prenatal care um is uh likeregular prenatal care is going
to be helpful to um detect anyearly signs.
Work with your provider to seeif you have certain risk
factors, if low-dose aspirin,that's an easy little easy fix.
And it's not a fix, it's an easyhelp, right?
Um, that lowers the risk ofdeveloping pre-clampsia.
(12:47):
Um, entering pregnancy at ahealthy weight and gaining an
appropriate amount of weightduring pregnancy, right?
So that comes with um, and thenyou know, we all start pregnancy
in different places for sure,but going into a healthy can
impact um healthy outcomes orunhealthy outcomes.
So having a diet balanced andrich fruit, you know, fruits,
(13:09):
vegetables, proteins, wholegrains, all of our whole foods
are going to be helpful,limiting processed foods,
limiting excess salt, limitingsugar, um, kind of like anyone
would do to eat for healthyblood pressure.
And then managing chronicconditions.
If you have any chronicconditions, hypertension,
diabetes, autoimmune disorders,right?
(13:31):
That if you're going intopregnancy, um, make sure those
are pretty well under control.
There was one client I had uh afew years ago, and she probably
the earliest and one of the mostinteresting and perhaps severe
cases, she got preclamticsymptoms at week 17.
So kind of early as they said wecan't even diagnose you with
(13:52):
this, although she had crazyhigh blood pressures at week 17.
Um, we can't diagnose you withthis until after week 20.
Sure enough, after week 20, shehad these high blood pressures.
They monitored her very closelythroughout her entire pregnancy
and watched carefully to seewhen would be the best time to
deliver her baby.
So her baby was delivered alittle bit early, but not too
much.
(14:12):
Um, so that was her secondpregnancy.
And then a couple years later,um, well, she actually uh, you
know, as she knew the risksthroughout her life, um, she
contemplated whether she shouldhave another pregnancy, first of
all.
Um, but what she did was changesome lifestyle things and got
into really good shape.
Um, she did a lot of dietchanges and exercising.
(14:34):
She and her partner ran like ahalf marathon together.
She trained for some triathlonsbetween.
I'm not saying you need to dothat, but she made some pretty
good changes in her life and shewas in really, really good shape
when a couple years later shedid indeed decide to have
another pregnancy.
And as luck would have it, shebecame pregnant with twins.
Total surprise.
(14:55):
I remember they called me um theday, well, the day after the day
that they found out they calledme after their doctor's
appointment.
And they're like, guess what?
You were never gonna guess.
Um, but they had twins, theywere having twins, they were in
shock for a while, as you canimagine, and the risk for
clampsia goes up with multiples.
She was working with a fabulousMFM, an amazing doctor, who
(15:15):
helped her throughout this nextpregnancy.
And you know what?
Twins.
Um, she was obviously a littlebit older, she wasn't in an old
category by any means.
I think she was in her early 30sby this point.
Um, that was the healthiestpregnancy of her three
pregnancies, and she deliveredhealthy baby girl twins, um,
much closer to their due datethan um we had first
(15:36):
anticipated.
So pretty exciting, like successstory there, which is awesome.
So manage those conditions.
Regular, moderate physicalexercise, like walking,
swimming, prenatal yoga can justhelp keep blood pressure steady.
Um, so go into pregnancy if youare able to and in a good
healthy state, healthy for you.
Um, and obviously work with theprovider to know if it's safe to
(15:58):
do these things if you'repregnant or have other
conditions.
Know your family history.
Know that like ask questions ofyour sisters, moms, um, any
close relatives who have bloodrelatives who have had babies
and see what their um experiencewas like.
And then in some parts of theworld, calcium intake is low.
So supplements have been shown.
Um, calcium supplements havebeen shown to reduce the risk of
(16:22):
preclampsia.
So definitely do that with adoctor as well.
So while we can't completelyprevent it, we can reduce risk
and catch this early.
Um, so work very carefully withyour healthcare team.
That's going to be one of thebest protections that you can.
So there is some power.
There's some powerful ways toreduce the risk of things that
(16:42):
are in your control.
Um, catching it early is one,but doing best you can to avoid
it is important.
Um so those with multiples,diabetes, high blood pressure,
um, work closely again with yourprovider.
Maybe you use aspirin or calciumsupplement that can re reduce
risk by up to 20%.
(17:03):
Um Wow, pre-clampsia, that's alot.
It's still um a mystery to me,and I think to a lot of people
right here right here in ourright here, right now, um why
this is happening so much.
I was at uh birth not too longago.
Um, and we're I was talking tothe charge nurse out in the
hall.
She's like, man, I got so manymedicals going on, and all these
(17:26):
people with preclampsia.
And so that causes inductions,that can be a little bit longer,
it can cause littlecomplications at birth with
baby.
Um, and she's like, honestly, mywhole nursing staff is not, um,
that's kind of a young staffthat's on tonight, and they
don't have all um of the deepexperience and skills that I
wish we had tonight because ofwhat we've got going on.
(17:46):
So please do your best to takecare of yourself.
Um, just as a quick littlewrap-up and checklist.
Remember, we can't alwaysprevent it, but we can reduce
risks.
Prenatal visits help us catch itearly and then be able to manage
it.
Know your risk factors, do thebest you can to control them um
with lowering, lowering thoserisk factors.
(18:08):
Well, try not to have twins.
Just kidding, you can have twinsif you want to, but and we know
that going into having diabetes,type one or type two, um, having
high blood pressure, chronichypertension, carrying
multiples, sometimes being over35, all those can be risk
factors.
Um, so watch extra careful.
Uh, know the warning signs.
That's why they ask aboutheadaches, vision changes,
(18:30):
sudden swelling or pain.
Um, if something feels off, liketrust it, trust your gut and and
talk to your proprietor aboutthat.
Um, know that you can work onthis.
Um, and your own, you have thepower to work on this for
yourself and for your health,for your baby's health as well.
Um, I mean this is something I'mgonna continue to watch.
(18:51):
It's piqued my interest forseveral years in my career,
something I will continue towatch and look at studies and um
see what comes out and how uhlike it's a little bit of a
mystery for us to solve, um, howwe can continue to reduce risks
because sometimes this onesurprises us.
It really does, and it has somepretty big effects.
Hopefully, this has been helpfulto you.
Um, if you're in pregnancy orknow somebody who is or
(19:12):
supporting someone who is, um,help them to manage those risk
factors and or support themthrough the hard times, right?
Sometimes when this crops up, umpeople are surprised.
Obviously, they're they're quitequite surprised, and it can be a
challenge.
So give appropriate support,compassionate support um around
the situations that arechallenging.
(19:33):
Um thank you so much.
I want to thank you for beinghere today with the Ordinary
Deal Podcast.
Your listens mean so much to us.
Um, I want you to try and make ahuman connection today.
If you can reach out, touchsomeone, whether that's
virtually eye contact, reallygrab hold of someone with your
own hands, give them a hug.
Um, that it will be important tomake that human connection.
(19:53):
Uh people need that.
We all we all need each other.
Hope you have a great day, andwe will see you next time on the
Ordinary Doula Podcast.
SPEAKER_00 (20:21):
Episode credits will be in the show notes.
Next time, as we continue toexplore the many aspects of
giving birth.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.