Pregnancy - a very important period in the life of a woman, so it is best to prepare: to identify and treat all chronic diseases, which in some way may affect the health of women and child development during pregnancy. But there are also states that are difficult to prevent. Preeclampsia toxemia of pregnancy called late - a condition that occurs in the second half of pregnancy and is characterized by dysfunction of vital organs and systems.

Preeclampsia, which develops in the absence of any disease called pure preeclampsia. If you have preeclampsia on the background of a disease (eg, hypertension), he is considered to be married.

Preeclampsia is more common in pregnant women with kidney disease, cardiovascular system, endocrine diseases, chronic intoxications and infections. Preeclampsia affects women with chronic stress, fatigue, nulliparous younger than 17 and older than 35 years old, from socially disadvantaged groups, who have a genetic predisposition to gestosis (mother, sister suffered preeclampsia).

The causes and mechanisms of development of preeclampsia

The causes of preeclampsia are currently not fully understood. It is believed that the reason for it is the impact of various factors, which lead to disturbances in the body of a pregnant woman.

The basis of all disturbances in preeclampsia is a spasm of the blood vessels, reducing blood volume, changes in clotting and blood flow. This leads to a decrease in blood supply to the tissues, which can not function properly. Most sensitive to the lack of blood supply to the brain and kidneys. The placenta also undergoes changes that cause intrauterine growth retardation.

Preeclampsia is divided into dropsy pregnant, nephropathy pregnant women, pre-eclampsia and eclampsia.

An early sign of preeclampsia - edema pregnant

Dropsy pregnancy is the result of fluid retention in the body and is characterized by persistent edema. There are hidden and obvious swelling. Hidden edema indicates too fast (more than 300 g per week) weight gain.

Obvious swelling usually begin to form in the ankles, and spread upward. When edema and overall well-being of pregnant women remains good.

Nephropathy pregnant - a deepening of preeclampsia

Nephropathy usually develops on the background of dropsy and is characterized by swelling, high blood pressure (up to 135/85 mm Hg) and the appearance of protein in the urine The protein in the urine - a sign of danger, which should not be underestimated . During the survey of pregnant women with nephropathy it is important the presence of vasospasm fundus - this suggests that cerebral blood flow is disrupted.

Pre-eclampsia - a condition that threatens the life of the woman and fetus

In the long nephropathy she can go to pre-eclampsia. A sign of this shift is a headache, heaviness in the head, flickering flies in front of the eyes, nausea, abdominal pain Abdominal pain: Types and Symptoms , Memory impairment, insomnia, irritability, Irritability - you try to control my temper , Lethargy against the backdrop of high blood pressure (160/110 mm Hg or higher). The cause of preeclampsia is a violation of the microcirculation in the brain. Pain in the stomach arise from the small hemorrhages in the stomach wall, and in the right upper quadrant - due to hyperextension of the liver capsule.

Eclampsia - the final stage of preeclampsia

Eclampsia occurs against the backdrop of pre-eclampsia is characterized by seizures and convulsions, which are often triggered by external factors: a bright light, sharp sound, pain, stress and so on. Convulsive seizures usually lasts 1-2 minutes and consists of four phases: initial, tonic (long) seizures, clonic (small) seizures and loss of consciousness phase.

Sometimes there is a form of non-convulsive eclampsia: a woman suddenly falls into a coma on a background of high blood pressure.

Complications of preeclampsia

Preeclampsia may be complicated by cardiac and renal failure Kidney failure - when treatment is vital , Bleeding in internal organs, including the brain, premature detachment of normally situated placenta. A typical complication of preeclampsia is also a placental insufficiency resulting in growth retardation.

Treatment of preeclampsia

Treatment of preeclampsia, except for mild swelling, conducted at the hospital. Appointed by the soothing, diuretic, lowers blood pressure and improves blood flow agents. ALWAYS prevention and treatment of intrauterine fetal hypoxia and delay its development. For a woman creates health-protective mode, according to testimony carried out delivery.

Indications for early delivery nephropathy is moderate with no effect on the treatment for 7-10 days, severe preeclampsia, which can not be eliminated for 2-3 hours, growth retardation and lack of growth during the treatment gestosis, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and its complications.

Prevention gestosis

Prevention of preeclampsia at risk should start with the beginning of the II trimester of pregnancy. This is organized by the rational mode of rest and food, are appointed soothing, regenerating liver, kidney and metabolic drugs.

But the basis of prevention of preeclampsia - a regular monitoring of obstetrician-gynecologist.

  Galina Romanenko

Human chorionic gonadotropin, better known as the pregnancy hormone - a special hormone produced during pregnancy, cells that form the placenta ("transmission link" between the egg is attached to the uterine wall, and a woman's body). The level of the pregnancy hormone is measured by blood and urine tests: A blood test to determine the level of the hormone may be about eleven days after conception, and by analysis of urine - twelve to fourteen days after conception (which is the principle of determination of gonadotropin in urine based all "home" pregnancy tests).

If the pregnancy is normal, the level of pregnancy hormone increases rapidly (in general - doubling every seventy-two hours). Peak performance reaches the level of gonadotropin in the first eight to eleven weeks of pregnancy, and then begins to decline.

What you need to know about the pregnancy hormone

• Eighty-five percent of all cases of normal pregnancy hormone levels of pregnancy doubles every forty-eight - seventy-two hours, and this is perfectly normal. In the course of pregnancy and increasing rates of hormone levels increase the amount of hormone in the blood gradually decreases.
• Although the rate of pregnancy hormone is important to rely too much on it is not: even if the level of gonadotropin in pregnancy is low, a child can be born completely healthy. The results of ultrasound studies carried out after the seventh-eighth week of pregnancy, much more accurate than the tests on gonadotropin.
• The content of human chorionic gonadotropin in urine or blood is measured in milli-international units per milliliter of fluid. The level of gonadotropin less than five mIU per milliliter indicates that pregnancy has not occurred, and rates above twenty five mIU per milliliter indicate that conception is successful.
• Once the level of human chorionic gonadotropin reaches two thousand mIU / mL, transvaginal ultrasound can detect at least the embryo sac.
• One analysis on hormones of pregnancy often is not considered a sufficient basis for the diagnosis. If pregnancy accompanied by any complications often run some tests to gonadotropin at intervals of several days - for more accurate study.
• To determine the duration of pregnancy, indicators such as the level of gonadotropin, is not used, because the numbers can vary greatly.
• There are two main types of tests for pregnancy hormone. The qualitative analysis to determine the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin in the blood, and quantitative - to measure the exact amount of the hormone in the blood.

Norm

The level of the pregnancy hormone, depending on the timing of pregnancy (indicators may vary in each case):

• The third week of pregnancy, from five to fifty mIU / ml
• The fourth week of pregnancy: up to four hundred and twenty six
• The fifth week of pregnancy, from eighteen to forty-seven thousand three hundred mIU / ml
• The sixth week of pregnancy, from eighty thousand to fifty six thousand five hundred mIU / ml
• Seventh - eighth week of pregnancy: seven thousand six hundred and fifty to two hundred and twenty nine thousand mIU / ml
• The ninth - twelfth week of pregnancy, from twenty-five thousand seven hundred to two hundred and eighty eight thousand mIU / ml
• The thirteenth to sixteenth week of pregnancy, from thirteen thousand three hundred to two hundred and fifty four thousand mIU / ml
• Seventeenth - the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy, from four thousand one hundred and sixty to sixty-five thousand four hundred mIU / ml
• Twenty-fifth - the fortieth week of pregnancy: three thousand six hundred and forty to one hundred and seventeen thousand mIU / ml

That can mean too low or high levels of the hormone of pregnancy?

Low levels of human chorionic gonadotropin in the blood of pregnant women may be caused by or in any complication of pregnancy or a common error in the calculations - for this reason, after two or three days performed repeated analysis for the study of the dynamics of hormone levels. Low levels of the pregnancy hormone could mean a possible miscarriage, ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, the death of the egg, in rare cases - error in determining gestational age.

High levels of human chorionic gonadotropin in the blood may indicate an error in determining the duration of pregnancy, molar pregnancy or a pregnancy with twins.

The hormone of pregnancy after the pregnancy

After four to six weeks after pregnancy for any reason completed, pregnancy hormone levels return to normal - i.e. the amount of gonadotropin levels do not exceed five mIU / ml. The process of reducing levels of the hormone depends on the cause of termination of pregnancy (spontaneous miscarriage Miscarriage - can you protect yourself from it? , Curettage Curettage - Women's mini-operation , Abortion, natural childbirth) and how high levels of the hormone were at the time of completion of the pregnancy.

What medications affect the levels of the hormone of pregnancy?

In this figure, the level of human chorionic gonadotropin in the blood of pregnancy, does not affect anything - except for specific drugs containing the hormone (such medicines are often used in the treatment of infertility). All other medications, whether antibiotics Antibiotics - whether they will help you in the foreseeable future? , Analgesics, oral contraceptives or other hormonal drugs Hormonal treatments - not only contraceptives It does not affect the level of the pregnancy hormone.