KC Parent: Everything You Need to Know About Preeclampsia

By Christa Melnyk Hines

What is preeclampsia? Preeclampsia typically occurs any time after 20 weeks gestation and, more rarely, can develop up to six weeks postpartum. Women with preeclampsia generally experience high blood pressure and protein in the urine.

Symptoms can come on suddenly and can include severe swelling, headaches, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, nausea and/or vomiting and visual disturbances.

African American women are particularly at risk for the condition and are three times more likely to die from it. No one knows exactly why, but researchers are pursuing several lines of inquiry.

“How much of this risk is due to environment? How much of it is systemic racism? And how much of it is just having a genetic predisposition?” says perinatologist Devika Maulik, MD, who treats patients at Children’s Mercy Hospital and Truman Medical Center and is an assistant professor at the UMKC School of Medicine.

Read the full article via KC Parent magazine.

Learn more about the Elizabeth J. Ferrell Fetal Health Center at Children's Mercy.