Pre-eclampsia is a condition that occurs only in pregnancy which may affect up to 6% of pregnancies in the UK.
Pre-eclampsia is a combination of raised blood pressure and protein in your urine. The exact cause of this condition is not yet understood.
It may cause the flow of blood through the placenta to be reduced. This means that baby won't get enough oxygen and nutrients, which may restrict his growth. It may also cause less fluid around baby in the womb. Pre-eclampsia usually happens in the second half of pregnancy, or shortly after the birth.
Symptoms of severe pre-eclampsia include:
These symptoms are serious and you should seek medical help immediately and if your in doubt your should contact your midwife.
Pre-eclampsia can occur in any pregnancy but you are at higher risk if:
Typically a screening Doppler ultrasound scan can be offered to pregnant women which looks at the blood supply to the placenta. It's a very valuable insight used successfully across the World and is recommended, especially if you are considered to be in a high risk group for developing pre-eclampsia. This special test may pick up a if your pregnancy is at a higher risk of developing pre-eclampsia which would normally allow the pregnancy to be monitored more closely by your care providers.
If you are diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, you should attend for hospital for regular assessment. Your blood pressure will be measured regularly and you may be offered medication to help lower it. You will also have blood tests (PIGF) which measure measure the amount of growth hormone made by your placenta which is affected by pre-eclampsia. Your baby will also be monitored by having more ultrasound scans to measure growth and well being. Unfortunately no diagnostic test is 100% accurate at diagnosing the condition but your care team will use the results of tests to make recommendations about your care.
If you would like to discuss adding this option on to your pregnancy scans with us please call one of our team and we would be more than happy to help.
We at The Scan Clinic, started with a simple goal - Quality Healthcare with a Personal Touch. It is this mission that continues to drive us to this day and in this current global crisis. We continually strive to find the right balance between delivering on our mission and maintaining high levels of health and safety for our clients as well as our staff.
We have always maintained high levels of cleanliness and infection control and since the start of the pandemic have taken additional daily infection control measures across the clinic as well as ensuring all staff have adequate PPE (personal protective equipment).
You will notice that some of our services are no longer available at the moment and this is because we are limiting our range of available services to essential scans only until further notice. Furthermore all Off-Peak clinics have been suspended until further notice
We have been continually monitoring the ongoing situation and taking all official guidance, however as this is an evolving situation the information and guidelines given below are subject to change and can change with immediate effect. We appreciate this can be challenging but please bear in mind that the steps we take are for the health and safety of all our staff and clients and we really appreciate your support and understanding to follow them.
If you have any questions, queries or concerns about any of this then please get in touch with our customer care team who are more than happy to help.
Hand hygiene is important please ensure you are washing your hands regularly with soap and water or a disinfectant.
Click the links: NHS or Public Health England for updates and advice on Coronavirus - COVID-19.