In addition, high blood pressure among pregnant women may range from mild to severe. Severe high blood pressure tends to harm mother’s kidneys as well as other organs and may result to low birth weight and even early delivery. Aside from that, oftentimes mother with severe high blood pressure develops preeclampsia or toxemia of pregnancy and may endanger lives of both mother as well as fetus. This condition usually starts on 20th week of pregnancy and is well known to increase with blood pressure and increase protein in mother’s urine. Preeclampsia may affect mother’s kidney, liver and even brain. Preeclampsia that cause seizures are known as eclampsia and is second leading cause of maternal death. Aside from that, preeclampsia is also known to cause fetal complications such as low birth weight, premature birth and stillbirth.

Furthermore, there are still no proven methods of preventing preeclampsia. On other hand, only known way of curing preeclampsia is for mother to finally deliver baby. Preeclampsia is more dominant in older expectant mothers and for mothers of multiple births.

Jinky C. Mesias is a lover of simple things and of nature. She spends most of her time reading and writing poetry.