Preeclampsia is a worrisome condition that may occur during pregnancy, and proper management of the condition is crucial to ensure the safety of both the mother and the baby. The only way to get rid of this condition is to deliver the baby, so preeclampsia management often revolves around keeping the baby inside for as long as possible without harming the mother. Constant monitoring of symptoms, hospitalization or bed rest, injections of steroids for lung development, and eventual induction are the main methods of preeclampsia management.
Most doctors prefer to catch this condition as early as possible, so they typically look for symptoms at each appointment after 20 weeks. Signs that they watch out for include sudden weight gain, high blood pressure, and swelling. They also typically request a urine sample at nearly every visit in order to look for protein. Just having one of these symptoms is not usually cause for concern, but the presence of a few of them can cause doctors to watch the patient carefully so that they can start preeclampsia management, particularly when protein in the urine is spotted.
If it is decided that the patient has preeclampsia, she is usually required to stay in the hospital until the baby can be delivered. If the condition is diagnosed between weeks 20 and 34, the goal is to prolong the pregnancy for as long as possible without putting the mother in danger. This usually involves hospitalization and medications that lower blood pressure. The patient is usually induced if there are any signs that the condition is getting worse.
Some women do not have to be hospitalized for the condition, but they do have to be monitored very closely. This kind of preeclampsia management typically involves weekly or daily appointments to make sure the blood pressure has not changed, and that swelling and weight have not increased dramatically. Women with a mild case of preeclampsia are usually put on bed rest, and given dietary restrictions to keep blood pressure and weight down.
As soon as it is determined that the baby has a high chance of survival outside the womb, labor is induced. This decision usually rests jointly with the doctor, hospital staff, and the patient. The earliest that a pre-term baby has been known to survive outside the womb is 24 weeks, and every week after this that the baby is in the uterus increases its chances of survival. If early labor seems inevitable, most women are administered steroid shots to help the baby's lungs develop faster than they would on their own. It should be known that preeclampsia management typically requires that the baby be delivered by 36 weeks of gestation, at the latest, in order to decrease risks to both mother and baby.
