What happens when pre-eclampsia is suspected or diagnosed

The maternity team may repeat blood-pressure readings, test urine and blood, and assess the baby's growth and wellbeing. Care can range from close outpatient follow-up to admission, medication and planned birth. New warning symptoms require immediate assessment even when a recent check was reassuring.

Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-related condition involving raised blood pressure and signs that organs or the placenta may be affected. It may first be detected during routine antenatal blood-pressure and urine checks because a person can feel well in its early stages.

Severity is not judged from one symptom alone. Clinicians consider the blood-pressure pattern, urine protein, blood-test results, symptoms, stage of pregnancy and the baby's growth and monitoring. The condition can also occur after birth, so headache, visual disturbance or feeling very unwell during the postnatal period still warrants assessment.

Attend every arranged maternity review and take prescribed blood-pressure medicine exactly as directed. If home blood-pressure checks are requested, use the agreed technique, record the readings and follow the team's thresholds for calling or attending. Do not wait for the next routine appointment when warning symptoms appear.

Monitoring may include repeated maternal blood tests, urine testing, ultrasound scans and fetal heart-rate checks. Medication may be offered to lower blood pressure or reduce the risk of seizures. Because birth resolves the pregnancy-related cause, the team balances continued pregnancy with the risks of the condition when discussing induction of labour or caesarean birth.

Contact your maternity unit or seek urgent medical care immediately for a severe or persistent headache, blurred vision or flashing lights, strong pain below the ribs, sudden swelling of the face or hands, vomiting, breathing difficulty, reduced baby movements, a seizure or feeling suddenly very unwell. These symptoms drive urgency because they can signal worsening maternal or fetal wellbeing.

Call emergency services for a seizure, collapse, severe breathing difficulty or loss of consciousness. After delivery, continue to act on the same warning symptoms and keep follow-up appointments, since blood pressure and related complications may need ongoing observation and treatment.

Ask what your latest blood-pressure, urine and blood results mean; how the baby is being monitored; which symptoms or home readings should send you straight to hospital; and whether admission is likely. It is also reasonable to ask what would change the recommended timing or method of birth and what monitoring will continue after delivery.