Medical Minute: Preeclampsia (Swelling During Pregnancy)
A diagnosis of preeclampsia is made if the pregnant woman has high blood pressure or hypertension (blood pressure higher than 140/90), and she is spilling protein (from her blood) into her urine. Proteinuria is detected with a simple urine dipstick test, or the patient is asked to collect her urine in a container for 24 hours to be tested for protein.
Please don’t quote me as saying that Alicia Keys has preeclampsia. I am simply using these photos of Alicia to illustrate what a patient with preeclampsia might look like. Notice the heavy swelling in her legs and ankles (which she cleverly hides with her sandal/booties)? She’s awfully huge for a woman who isn’t carrying triplets.
The diagnosis is made whether the patient has edema (swelling with accumulation of fluid) of the hands, face and eyes, or just edema of the legs and feet (lower extremity dependent edema, as in Alicia’s case).
Women who are pregnant for the first time (such as Alicia) are at higher risk for preeclampsia. Other risk factors include:
Diabetes
History of high blood pressure
History of preeclampsia
Multifetal pregnancies
Signs and symptoms of preeclampsia includes edema (swelling of hands, face or eyes, and/or lower extremities), nausea and vomiting, headache, blurred vision, abdominal pain (especially in the right upper abdomen), flank pain (lower back), palpitations, protein in urine, (rapid heart rate) and jaundice. Remember that signs are what you see and symptoms are what you feel.
The pregnant woman diagnosed with preeclampsia is placed on bedrest with instructions to lay on her left side periodically, and/or to elevate her legs to reduce the swelling. The patient is also prescribed TED hose or compression stockings to decrease the swelling in her legs.
A healthy diet, which includes foods from the 5 major food groups and prenatal vitamins is essential. Also, cut back on table salt, sodas, caffeine and sugar.
Although some edema is normal during the late stages of pregnancy, it is still important to rule out dangerous causes of edema such as preeclampsia. Especially if you have been diagnosed with preeclampsia before. It is important to know what your baseline blood pressure is before you get pregnant.
So if your blood pressure rises even slightly during pregnancy, that could be a cause for concern. A woman with a normal baseline blood pressure of 90/60 (before she got pregnant) could be considered hypertensive if her BP is now 120/75 during pregnancy.
Pregnant women should also monitor their urine for signs of excess protein. Urine dipsticks are available at your local pharmacy. If the urine dipstick reading indicates 2+ protein or above, call your OB/Gyn or personal care physician immediately.
This has been your medical minute.
More Info on the Web
Lower extremity edema during pregnancy – Merck
Preeclampsia – Preeclampsia.org
Photos by PacificCoastNews.com
18 Responses to “Medical Minute: Preeclampsia (Swelling During Pregnancy)”
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alicia has always had thighs and cankles; this doesn’t look like an example of pre-e.
however, great post!
yeah them look like her regulars to me
That skank always had those big azz legs……
Ummmm, she’s always had big legs Sandra!
I understand where you’re coming from Sandra, but Alicia has always been thick… She looks like her regular self
Sandy, I love the medical minute segments.
Yea, she always had tree trunks for legs and ankles.
But she does look cute pregnant.
I only have 32 more days left..give or take
Blessed I haven’t been flagged for preeclampsia- like the first time
I was a swollen woman…glad I got my sexy back
Sandra! My lazy bund didn’t hit one event this weekend…
Nevertheless GREAT post!
I suffered from posteclampsia with my 2nd child and preeclampsia w/ my 1st. I wish I’d known about preeclampsia because by the time it was all said and done I’d had an emergency c-section @25 weeks. Unfortunately in my case I was simply young and unaware of what to look for when pregnant. (I was 19) I thought the swelling was normal… My “fighter” was 1 pound. 7 ounces when he was born. Of course God is good and he prepared me for him to pass.
w/ my 2nd pregnancy I kept the same OB team and they slapped me on bed rest for 37 weeks! (I gained 58 pounds from hypertension) I still ended up with posteclampsia, from which I still suffer from hypertension… which sucks @ 30… wait I mean 29!
….And Alicia’s legs, thighs, and ankles were not always the same size…definitely appears to be pregnancy related fluid retention and/or preeclampasia
hmmm.. shes always been on the thickly side **shrugs** but I agree I likes the med minutes and she is cute preggers
I had preeclampsia… this isn’t it nor can you tell from a picture. AKeys is just not a size 2 pregnant person and she looks good. And preeclampsia is known for marked swelling out of nowhere, not just weight gain and finally unless you’re a hypochondriac or have major issues no one tests their own urine through pregnancy so no pregnant women should not be testing themselves for this condition. More than protein in the urine is needed to diagnose this anyway. Dr’s routinely check at your regular visits or if you have other signs/symptoms may check also. This was the most ridiculous ignorant misinformed medical minute I’ve ever read smdh
I thought I was the only one that thought she looked a lil ‘extra’ plump for this to be her first pregnancy. But I hope if she had pre-e she wouldn’t be on the scene so much.
@bamabeauty
yeah they have. people use to make fun of her cankles all the time. she started working out and it got better but still
she looks normal to me
@elcrtik
Guess I hadn’t notice, but pregnancy seems to account for something in this picture..something
This was the most ridiculous ignorant misinformed medical minute I’ve ever read smdh
*sucks teeth*
I’ve seen some bad swelling and this isn’t it. She actually looks really good. My feet looked like I could’ve been in the klump fam and I didn’t have pre-e. Good try though Sandra.