Pregnant moms have to be constantly aware of not only their health but their baby’s health as well. This means constantly monitoring the foods they eat, the beverages they drink, the prescriptions drugs they take and so forth. They also need to monitor their bodies – especially their blood pressure.

It’s very common for a woman to develop high blood pressure during her first pregnancy. In fact, if this is your first pregnancy, you have a 25% chance of developing high blood pressure sometime after about the 20th week of conception. In later pregnancies, it’s less likely to occur. Usually, the high blood pressure will only be a mild case and nothing serious and you can expect it to return to normal after you gives birth. It is extremely important, however, that you and your doctor monitor your blood pressure while you’re pregnant to ensure that it never gets into the danger level.

If you become pregnant and you already have high blood pressure, you are probably taking medication to help control it. There are many high blood pressure medications that can injure a developing fetus. Once you become pregnant, or even before if you are actively trying to conceive, you’ll want to make your doctor aware of any prescription medication you’re taking and verify that it will cause no harm to come to your baby. If your medications are on the “danger” list, you may have to temporary switch your medications until after the baby is born.

Preeclampsia, also known as toxemis, is a special type of pregnancy complication that comes along with high blood pressure. It is a serious disorder that can cause extreme swelling of the limbs, ankles, and face and a high concentration of protein in the mothers urine. If it occurs, it will normally occur in the last half of the pregnancy. With this disease, high blood pressure is not the cause, it is the symptom.

Why is monitoring your blood pressure so important? If untreated, preeclampsia can lead to complications in the pregnancy such as stillbirth. The mom can potentially suffer damage to the brain, liver, lungs, and kidneys – possibly leading to death. In rare cases, preeclampsia will develop into eclampsia and the mother will have convulsions. If your doctor is monitoring your blood pressure at regular checkups and if he is monitoring the protein levels in your urine, he can make the necessary interventions, if necessary, to prevent preeclampsia.

When the baby arrives, you’re still not out of the woods just yet, as preeclampsia can occur up to a week following delivery of the baby. So even after the baby is born, you should allow for a couple more mandatory blood pressure checks on your schedule.

Hypertension is dangerous to everyone, but especially to pregnant moms. There is absolutely no reason to put you or your child at risk. Having your doctor or medical care practitioner monitor your blood pressure and urine protein levels at regular intervals is essential to ensuring that you and your child conclude your long pregnancy journey on a happy and joyous note.

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