Preeclampsia is a severe disease that affects all of a woman’s organs. It occurs after 20 weeks of pregnancy, usually in the third trimester. Early-onset preeclampsia is a form of preeclampsia that occurs before 34 weeks of pregnancy.
It might also develop in the weeks following childbirth. HELLP syndrome can be triggered by preeclampsia. Hemolysis, high liver enzymes, and low platelet count are abbreviated as HELLP.
Bring Changes Before & Between Pregnancies To Reduce Preeclampsia
HELLP syndrome causes red blood cells to be demolished, as well as interfering with blood coagulation. It can also cause chest pain, abdominal pain, and liver bleeding. HELLP syndrome is a life-threatening illness. HELLP syndrome can be fatal to women.
They may also face health problems for the rest of their lives as a result of the illness. The experts have warned that one must not ignore a few symptoms these days else it may have a long-term or even permanent impact on the body of the concerned female.
There is no specific organ that is targeted by preeclampsia and hence almost all organs of the body including the respiratory and nervous systems may get affected by the same. One needs to get better at it as soon as the symptoms come to the knowledge and meet an expert.
S. Michelle Ogunwole, M.D., a fellow in the Division of General Internal Medicine, and Wendy Bennett, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of medicine, both at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, led the team that published their findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association on Aug.16, 2021.
“Preconception health care is crucial because it gives a window of opportunity to consider your future health,” Ogunwole notes. “We advise people to concentrate on chronic disease issues both during their pregnancies,” says the doctor.
According to Ogunwole, a woman who develops preeclampsia during her first pregnancy is more likely to possess it again during her DUI pregnancies.
“As an internist concerned about maternal outcomes, I’m curious about what health care practitioners can do to help women reduce their risk of preeclampsia,” says Ogunwole, who is a huge proponent of preconception counseling.
Ogunwole and her colleagues compared two groups of women who were part of the Boston Birth Cohort, a long-running collaboration between the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Boston University led by Xiaobin Wang, M.D., Sc.D., M.P.H., Zanvyl Krieger Professor in Children’s Health at the former.
The researchers wanted to know what made women get preeclampsia as well as what didn’t, as well as how a first occurrence of the disease affects subsequent pregnancies. “Rich maternal health data among racially and multi-cultural pregnant women,” as per Ogunwole’s team, who analyzed 618 women.
“We wanted to make sure we were asking questions of people who looked like the people we serve,” she explains. “I’m intrigued by women’s lives and the complications of pregnancy that can impact their future health.”
Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth were all found to be prevalent factors among women who developed preeclampsia during their first and second pregnancies or developed the condition during maternity with a second or later child, as per Ogunwole’s study.
“We know that getting fit improves other diseases,” adds Ogunwole, “thus we counsel women to adopt healthier lifestyles before and after pregnancies.” “You can still strengthen your overall health whether you have another pregnancy or not.”
Future research, so according to Ogunwole, will hopefully include larger investigations to confirm the current research’s outcomes. She also wants to look into the structural constraints that prevent women from maintaining healthy lifestyles and propose ideas to enhance women’s long-term health.