preeclampsia
Strokes in Pregnancy Skyrocket
Posted by Elvin Adams on
In the last 10 years the incidence of strokes among pregnant women has increased by more than 50%. Although strokes have decreased among older women, they are rising in young and middle aged women.
Hospitalizations for pregnancy-related strokes and "mini strokes" jumped from 4,100 in 1995 to 6,300 in 2006. This is a 54 percent increase. Data supporting this discovery was mined from federal hospitalization statistics in all 50 states.
Strokes during pregnancy are largely due to high blood pressure issues in women who are overweight or obese. High blood pressure in pregnancy is particularly harmful, both for baby and mother. Part of the problem also comes from women having babies later in life when high blood pressure is more common.
PositiveTip for
Super-Obesity and Preeclampsia
Posted by Fred Hardinge on
Super-obese women have substantially higher rates of preeclampsia than normal-weight women.
The prevalence of super-obesity (when the BMI [body-mass index] is more than 50 kg/m2) is rising sharply in the United States.
An analysis of more than 854,000 live births in Missouri reveals that super-obese women experienced 4.7 times the rate of preeclampsia compared with normal-weight women. Women in the super-obese category who gained the most weight during pregnancy had 13.4 times the risk of preeclampsia than their normal-weight peers.
PositiveTip: Weight-control is an essential ingredient to having a healthy pregnancy with minimal complications.