Pre-eclampsia is hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. It is one of the most common life-threatening conditions that occurs in pregnancy. High blood pressure in the mother hampers blood flow to her vital organs like kidney and brain and also to the placenta which is the reservoir of food and oxygen to the baby.
Consult gynecologist at fetal medicine hospitals in Vijayawada
If left untreated, maternal complications may include, organ failure and death. Fetus is at risk of growth restriction , preterm delivery , neonatal morbidity and mortality. Early onset of preeclampsia is known to have more deleterious effects of mother and baby.
Despite the extensive research and development in the field of obstetric and fetal medicine, there is no definitive treatment for preeclampsia. Delivery is the only option in severe cases. If delivery is planned early to prevent complications to the mother, fetus may suffer from prematurity problems. If the delivery is delayed till baby is mature, it may cause deterioration of mother's health due to preeclampsia.
Patients with preeclampsia are given medications to control the blood pressure and the fetus is monitored regularly to assess the growth, amniotic fluid, blood flow reaching the fetus by performing doppler studies. Appropriate time of delivery is planned accordingly.
What is Preeclampsia screening?
Preclampsia Screening in Vijayawada during the first trimester can identify women at high-risk for pre-eclampsia. High risk women are given medication to prevent preeclampsia and are closely monitored with regular check-ups. Maternal and perinatal outcomes are good when the disease is identified early and managed appropriately.
In addition to screening for aneuploidy after 11-13 week scan, option to have a screening test for preeclampsia is given to the couple.
How is preeclampsia screening done?
During 11-13 wks scan, doppler study of both uterine arteries is performed to measure the pulsataliity indices and mean arterial pressure is calculated. Mother’s blood pressure is measured in both arms. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure is noted.Maternal blood is withdrawn to analyse PAPP-A and PlGF. All these parameters are used to calculate the risk of developing preeclampsia during this pregnancy.
Screening for preterm birth:
Delivery of the baby before 37 completed weeks of gestation is known as preterm birth. Babies born prematurely may have health problems like cerebral palsy, learning disabilities etc. Earlier the gestational age at delivery, more are the complications due to prematurity. Among the various reasons that lead to preterm birth, short cervical length is one.
Cervical length can be measured by transvaginal ultrasound during TIFFA scan to predict the risk of preterm birth. Cervical length less than 2.5 cm is considered to be short cervix and these cases are managed by the obstetrician with appropriate methods.
In a few cases, internal os of cervix will be open and the cervix will be very short. These cases will need cervical stitch to prevent preterm birth.
Visit Dr. P. Madhavi Latha at pregnancy scanning centers in Vijayawada
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